NFL: New York Jets showed head coach Robert Saleh the door

Robert Saleh insisted that no one was panicking after the New York Jets’ slow start to the season. Twenty-four hours later, he was shot.

Jets owner Woody Johnson made the surprising decision on Tuesday, following a 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London last Sunday.

Saleh, who led the Jets to a 2-3 record so far in his fourth campaign at the helm of the Jets, finished his stay in New York with a cumulative record of 20-36.

This is the first time in 25 years that Johnson has fired a head coach in the middle of a season.

“This morning, I informed Robert Saleh that he will no longer be the head coach of the New York Jets,” Johnson said in a team release. I thanked him for his hard work over the past three and a half years and offered my best wishes to him and his family.

“It was not a decision to be taken lightly, but we are not playing to our expectations. And I think now is the best time to make a change,” he said.

The New York team is trying to end the NFL’s longest active drought without participating in the playoffs, which is 13 seasons.

Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will serve as interim head coach.

“He is a challenging coach who is respected by his colleagues and the players on the team,” said Johnson. I believe he and his colleagues are in the best position for the team’s full potential talented to use this to achieve the goals we set for ourselves in the off-season.

This surprising decision came 24 hours after Saleh expressed confidence that Aaron Rodgers and the Jets would be able to turn the tide after two consecutive losses. Rodgers had one of the worst games of his career with three interceptions.

“There is so much football to be played,” Saleh said on Monday. There are so many aspects we can improve and there are many aspects we can build on, which we are doing well.

“So I’m not panicking. Nobody here panics,” he continued.

It seems Johnson had seen enough to make changes.

The Jets will face the Buffalo Bills (3-2) on Monday. If they win, they could find themselves tied for first place in the America East. But instead of Saleh, Ulbrich, 47, will lead the team.

Ulbrich played 10 seasons as a linebacker with the San Francisco 49ers. He joined the Jets when Saleh arrived in 2021. He had spent the previous six seasons as an assistant with the Atlanta Falcons.