The New York Jets have belatedly fired head coach Robert Saleh less than 48 hours after losing a 23-17 decision to Minnesota in London. ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news on Tuesday morning.
The 45-year-old Saleh had zero head-coaching experience before being hired away from the San Francisco 49ers, where he served as defensive coordinator from 2017-2020. That lack of HC experience showed throughout his tenure that ends five games into his fourth season.
Saleh consistently committed clock-management mistakes (a home loss to Detroit on Dec. 18 of 2022 immediately comes to mind), made poor hires on his staff (current OC Nathaniel Hackett tops the list) and lost football games (lots of ’em).
Saleh went 4-13 in Year 1, 7-10 in 2022 and 2023, and he’s taking a pink slip with the Jets sporting a 2-3 record ahead of a Week 6 home game vs. Buffalo on Monday Night Football. That’s a 20-36 overall record for a 35.7 winning percentage.
How disappointing was that record? Well, it prompted owner Woody Johnson to jettison his HC out of town during the middle of the season for the first time in his 25-year tenure as owner.
The organization has named DC Jeff Ulbrich as the interim HC.
The 47-year Ulbrich has been the club’s DC throughout Saleh’s reign as HC, but defense hasn’t been the problem in recent years. Ulbrich was on Atlanta’s staff from 2015-20.
As of late Tuesday morning, most books had Buffalo installed as a 2.5-point road favorite with a total of 41. The Jets were +120 on the money line.