Woody Johnson had security escort Robert Saleh out, showing main cause of Jets dysfunction

Typically, in a season with this such excitement and expectation, the New York Jets would have the courtesy of waiting at least until midseason before disappointing fans. This year, they took just five weeks to completely fall apart.

Jets owner fired head coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday after the team’s 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London. The firing comes as a shock, and it’s a questionable decision made by a dysfunctional franchise.

Saleh coached just five full games with quarterback Aaron Rodgers at the helm after spending a significant portion of the 2023 offseason recruiting the quarterback to New York. Even after the Jets’ 2-3 record, the team still had an opportunity to take the division lead in Week 6.

Even in Robert Saleh’s firing, dysfunction continues to plague the Jets

According to reports, it doesn’t seem Johnson has handled the process of changing coaches in the best possible way. After receiving the news, Saleh was escorted out of the building by the team’s director of security, per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.

Coaches typically don’t need to be escorted out of the building after receiving the dreaded news of their firing, but perhaps Johnson was afraid of a potential conflict. 

After all, the two reportedly had a “heated argument” during the annual league meetings in Orlando earlier this year. Although Johnson denied those reports at the time, they seem more likely to be true now. If that’s the case, Johnson should have just replaced Saleh as the head coach during the offseason. 

New York is promoting defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich to interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Ulbrich’s first test will come against the Buffalo Bills at MetLofe Stadium on Monday Night Football. Coincidentally, a win would place the Jets in the lead for the AFC East divisional crown.

Regardless of Saleh’s performance, there’s no point in waiting just a month into the season to fire the head coach. Teams with interim head coaches typically don’t make deep postseason runs, and New York’s remaining time with Rodgers is very limited.

Saleh produced a 20-36 record since joining as head coach before the 2021 season. Although he’s built a dominant defense, the offense has struggled to move the ball. 

The Jets have a 13-year playoff drought, the longest among all major sports leagues in North America.