Former Jets head coach and current football analyst Eric Mangini looked like Nostradamus on Tuesday.
Shortly after the Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh, a clip resurfaced of Mangini on FS1’s “First Things First” where he correctly predicted that there would be some sort of repercussion from owner Woody Johnson if the Jets lost to the Vikings on Sunday in London.
“This is an absolute must-win,” Mangini said on the program last week. “And here’s why, Woody Johnson, the 66th Ambassador to the UK. All of his buddies are gonna be over there and after the game when he’s eating tea and crumpets, he’s gonna be wanting to talk about his team and how successful they are. Not only that, you’ve got the former first-round draft pick playing against you and playing really well and you’ve got a 40-year-old quarterback.”
Mangini continued to explain that a win would have been advantageous for quarterback Aaron Rodgers in his attempt to convince the Jets to go out and get wide receiver Davante Adams.
The former coach ended by saying on the show that he thought “Woody will be pissed off.”
Johnson served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom during the Trump administration (2017-21), and his brother, Christopher, was placed in charge of the football team.
Mangini was ultimately proved right in the end, as Saleh was dismissed on Tuesday, two days after a loss in London.
In a statement released after the decision, Johnson said that it “was not an easy” one, “but we are not where we should be given our expectations, and I believe now is the best time for us to move in a different direction.”
Saleh told Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer that he was “blindsided” by the Jets owner telling him that the organization was making a coaching change.
Saleh finished his career as Jets head coach with a 20-36 record.