Tyler Stearns |
The New York Jets fired Robert Saleh early morning yesterday. The decision was out of the blue, as he was only told about terminating his role without any warning. He was going to walk into the facility and fire offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett before he was fired. But owner Woody Johnson told him his time in New York was over before he even got to say goodbye to the players.
Why did the Jets make this decision? The Jets' start to the season has been nothing short of disappointing, but it hasn't seemed like they are down a bad track. Their record is 2-3, which isn't horrible. The 49ers, Colts, and Saints are 2-3, and the Eagles and Chargers are 2-2. And none of those coaches are in any risk of losing their jobs. But the way that the Jets have lost their last two games is much different than the rest. Their offense has looked subpar, even with Aaron Rodgers, Garret Wilson, and Breece Hall. The run game has been poor, as they haven't eclipsed 100 total yards in the last few weeks. But the defense has been great, which is Saleh's expertise, so firing Hackett may have been much more productive But the overall underperformance of the team is likely the reason why they made the decision. And the speculation that Aaron Rodgers had a say in the decision was unfair and not correct, as he pointed out in a discussion on Pat McAfee. The decision came entirely from upper management.
The decision was not the right one. Saleh has been a good coach for the Jets. He has continuously brought them good seasons even with a horrible offensive situation. The decision to draft Zach Wilson was not his, so the poor offense when the BYU product was QB had nothing to do with him. He had to help the team through injury spells and internal issues. And now, finally, with a chance to bring the Jets to the playoffs with a great QB, he gets fired after only five games. An odd choice to say the least, and one that certainly blindsided Jets and NFL fans.
So what's next? They just wasted a year with the QB they traded multiple draft picks for and are paying a large contract. Soon, they will have to pay Sauce Gardner, Garret Wilson, and Haason Reddick. They aren't in a good cap situation and their star QB is likely to retire after this season or the next. And now, they have to hire a new head coach. The top options for the job are Mike Vrable, former Titans HC, and Ben Johnson, current Lions offensive coordinator. Johnson would give the fanbase hope since Vrabel is essentially the same coach as Saleh - a focus on hardnosed, strong defense with a prominent running game. And to bring statistics into the mix, ten of the last eleven Super Bowl-winning HCs have had offensive backgrounds, the only exception being Bill Belichick. So Johnson, or another offense coordinator like the Texans' Bobby Slowik would be the best move. And if they want to give an ex-HC a chance, it should be Kliff Kingsbury, who has revived his career in Washington, coaching the best offense in the NFL.
Aside from coaching, personnel and cap space is what they will need to tackle next. Aaron Rodgers isn't g going to last forever, so drafting a young QB either in this class or the next will be important. And as we saw with Jordan Love, Rodgers will be unwilling to mentor a QB that is supposed to surpass him while he still plays. It must be a project player, someone who will succeed Rodgers, not take his spot. There are plenty of late first-round, and early second-round talents that can be deemed as such. Miller Moss, Carson Beck, or even Drew Allar can be good backups for Rodgers and eventually succeed him. They all have similar traits to Rodgers and each plays in strong conferences. They also have to focus on the receiving core. If they end up trading for Davante Adams, then this may be less relevant, but the Jets only have Wilson as a strong wideout.
The decision to fire Saleh was not smart. They should've kept him and continued their project with him. He was a great hire from the 49ers and has overachieved with bad rosters. But he doesn't even get a chance to fix the small issues the team has faced in the early season. But since they made this choice, they have to now hire a new HC, fix cap issues, and draft young talent. They have their work cut out for them.
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