Woody Johnson needed a convenient scapegoat and didn’t have to look far to find one in Robert Saleh, the 20-36 former head coach of the Jets.
The owner reached the conclusion after five games that there was so much dysfunction on offense that not even his designated Savior of the franchise, Mr. Aaron Rodgers, could overcome it.
When Josh Allen and the Bills marched into MetLife Stadium on Monday night, interim Jets head coach Jeff Ulbrich needed Aaron Rodgers to be the Aaron Rodgers that Johnson and GM Joe Douglas and Saleh had been certain they were getting when they asked him to be their Joe Namath and overcome.
Ulbrich needed Rodgers to figure out a way to make it all work with new play-caller Todd Downing replacing Nathaniel Hackett.
Ulbrich needed better protection for Rodgers and he needed Breece Hall to emerge from the football Witness Protection Program.
Most of all, he needed Rodgers to stare down Allen and never blink and finish the night tied for first place in the AFC East.
The way Johnson was talking about his roster on the day he whacked Saleh, you would have thought that Adam Gase could coach the Jets to their first playoff berth since the 2010 season.
The reality is that Saleh was only one of the many Underachievers.
Jets players have waxed poetic about accountability and locking arms in the wake of Johnson’s impulsive franchise-quaking decision.
“I think it puts the spotlight on us,” Rodgers said.
Mostly on him.
Especially on him.
Rodgers was among a good group of Jets who felt a sense of guilt for costing Saleh his job, and while the owner went out of his way to tell everyone that it was his decision and his decision alone, you’d have to be pretty naive to believe that Rodgers was blindsided by it. You don’t pull the rug out from beneath the head coach Rodgers locked arms with to create a New York legacy and chase a Super Bowl together and keep him in — wait for it — the dark.
Ulbrich’s defensive players are fond of him, and have always played for him.
But Ulbrich couldn’t afford to have Rodgers throwing three interceptions the way he did in London or failing to get his team in the end zone against the Broncos.
Ulbrich couldn’t afford to witness Rodgers resembling a quarterback a month and a half from his 41st birthday.
Elite head coaches always make a difference, in any and every sport.
But ask Andy Reid about Patrick Mahomes. Ask Sean McDermott about Allen. Ask John Harbaugh about Lamar Jackson. Ask Zac Taylor about Joe Burrow.
Hall needed to regain his swagger to keep Rodgers from attempting 54 passes and taking a beating. Downing needed to deploy him as a weapon in the passing game. WR Mike Williams needed to be more of a factor so Rodgers didn’t feel the need to force 22 targets again to Garrett Wilson. Downing needed to be a more creative and unpredictable play-caller than Hackett had been.
Over the phone 16 months ago, I asked Ulbrich how Rodgers was making him better.
“Oh my goodness, in countless ways,” Ulbrich said. “The most obvious if he goes out in practice, if we are off an inch, we’re gonna pay for it. He makes you be so detailed in all that you do — pre-snap, post-snap, technique, scheme, all of that. He’s gonna elevate every guy on this defense because there’s not a second that you can be off your details that you won’t get exploited. I think that’s probably the biggest impact that he’ll have on me. I just can’t wait to have more conversations with him regarding what he sees, and why he made certain decisions and how he sees the game. He’s the best I’ve ever been around as far as just the brain of the football player. I’ve never seen anything like it as far as his ability to really figure you out, and then not only figure you out but then to have the skill set in which to take advantage of what he sees. … It’s just a deadly combination.”
For the Jeff Ulbrich Era to begin better than the Robert Saleh Era ended, that’s the Aaron Rodgers he needed, and will need.