The Jets’ Robert Saleh era is over.
“This morning, I informed Robert Saleh that he will no longer serve as the Head Coach of the Jets,” chairman Woody Johnson said in a statement released Tuesday morning.
Five weeks into Saleh’s fourth season at the helm with the team expecting to compete for a Super Bowl, the Jets were just 2-3. The head coach concluded his run with a 20-36 record that included zero playoff appearances.
Here’s how we got here:
Saleh joins Jets
Saleh signs a five-year contract to become the 20th head coach in franchise history on Jan. 14, 2021.
Loses head coaching debut
The Jets fall on the road to the Panthers, 19-14, on Sept. 12, 2021.
Zach Wilson, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft, struggles in his first career start.
In what would become a recurring theme throughout Saleh’s tenure, the offensive line looks abysmal and the future appears bleaker when former fist-round pick Mekhi Becton suffers a knee injury and is carted off the field.
He would not play again during the 2021 season.
Notches first win in dramatic fashion
The Jets give their new coach his first win with a 27-24 overtime home win against the Titans on Oct. 3, 2021.
They rally from a 17-10 fourth-quarter deficit and win on Matt Ammendola’s 22-yard field goal.
Saleh receives a Gatorade bath for entering the win column.
Finishes 4-13 in first season
The Jets drop their final game of Saleh’s inaugural campaign on Jan. 9, 2022.
The team finishes with finish with a 4-13 record.
Only two teams, the Jaguars and the Lions, manage less wins.
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The high mark
With their 20–17 Week 9 win against the Buffalo Bills on Nov. 6, 2022, the Jets enter their bye week at a respectable 6-3 and owning a playoff spot.
But the good vibes don’t last.
The Jets stumble through the second half of the season, dropping seven of their final eight contests and losing their final six.
In Saleh’s second season, the Jets finished last in the AFC East. Again.
The Jets topped at three games above .500 in the Saleh era, also sitting at 7-4 in the 2022 campaign before they failed to win another game.
Aaron Rodgers inbound
The Jets and Packers finalize a deal that sends four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers to New York on Apr. 25, 2023.
Saleh seemingly has his quarterback after suffering through inconsistent play his first two seasons.
Four plays
On Sept. 11, 2023, four offensive snaps into the Jets’ season, the offensive line breaks down and Rodgers is sacked by Leonard Floyd. He does not get up.
The following day, Rodgers is diagnosed with a ruptured Achilles tendon. He will not play again this season, Saleh’s third with the Jets.
Zach Wilson benching
Wilson, who has been leading a historically awful offense since taking over after Rodgers’ injury, is benched in the third quarter of the Jets’ Week 11 divisional loss to the Bills on Nov. 19, 2023.
It’s the third time Wilson has been benched in the last 13 months and essentially serves as the end to his unspectacular run with the franchise.
Tim Boyle takes over starting duties.
Beats Belichick
The Jets end a 15-game losing streak to the Patriots in their final contest of the season on Jan. 7, 2024.
The Jets finish third in the AFC East with a 7-10 record, matching their 2022 mark.
Rodgers’ minicamp drama
After Rodgers skips minicamp in an unexcused absence, Saleh denies any tension, rift or disconnect with the quarterback on June 12, 2024.
“Aaron and I are on the exact same page,” the head coach says. “It’s more of an issue for everyone outside the building than it is inside.”
QB attempts to calm the flames
On July 24, 2024, back in New Jersey following his Egyptian excursion, Rodgers speaks to the press about his unexcused absence.
The quarterback reveals he was fined over $50,000 but reiterates that “Robert [Saleh] and I are great.”
Jets drop 2024 opener
The Jets open their 2024 campaign, Saleh’s fourth, with a 32-19 loss in San Francisco on Sept. 9, 2024.
In his first game since Week 1 of the 2023 season, Rodgers looks cramped in the pocket. Of his 21 passing attempts, only two travel through the air for more than 15 yards.
Hug-gate
After the Jets take a 14-point lead in what would become a 24-3 Week 3 win over the Patriots on Sept. 19, 2024, the broadcast team catches Rodgers seemingly shoving off a hug from Saleh.
The moment is dissected during the halftime show and on social media
Rodgers plays down the interaction in his post-game interview, saying, “he’s not a big hugger, usually, so I didn’t know he was going for the hug.”
Rodgers purports all is well
Speaking from London on Oct. 4, 2024, days ahead of the Jets’ Week 5 matchup against the Vikings, Rodgers denies the idea that there is any fracture in his relationship with Saleh.
“I think there’s some driving force to try and put a wedge [from] outside the facility between Robert and I,” Rodgers says with the Jets sitting at 2-2.
Saleh’s final stand
The Jets ultimately lose Saleh’s final game, 23-17, in London when Rodgers is picked off late while trying to lead a late comeabck.
Following the defeat, in a foreboding sign of what’s to come, Quincy Williams tells SNY, “people gotta start taking accountability … people get tired of hearing the same thing every week.”
Jets fire Saleh
The Jets fire Saleh on Oct. 9, 2024, five weeks into his fourth season leading Gang Green.
Jeff Ulbrich is tapped to serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.