The New York Jets’ firing of head coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday with five games remaining in the 2024 season sent shockwaves throughout the NFL.
Saleh’s firing came at the start of a highly anticipated season following the return of former Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who missed all but the first four games due to injury last year.
Along with Rodgers, Jets offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett spent three years in Green Bay from 2019 to 2021, developing a close relationship with the quarterback and leading New York’s offense that ranked worst last season. I came back.
But after back-to-back losses dropped the Jets’ record to 2-3 and the offense struggled again, Jets owner Woody Johnson said the team was “not in a situation where we should have high expectations.” Coach Saleh was fired for this reason.
Without Rodgers in 2023, the Jets had the fourth-worst scoring offense and the second-worst total offense. Five games into the 2024 season, the Jets aren’t exactly lighting up the scoreboard with their 40-year-old future Hall of Fame quarterback and Hackett leading the offense. The Jets rank 27th in scoring offense and total offense.
Saleh, who had a 20-36 record in just over three seasons as head coach, was hired in 2021 with a defensive background but will ultimately be responsible for all aspects of the team. .
Still, some on NFL Twitter believe Hackett should be held more accountable if he stays. The Jets brought Rodgers to New York a month after he was fired as head coach by the Denver Broncos in December 2022, paving the way for Rodgers from Green Bay. Hackett played in just 15 games with Denver, whose offense averaged an NFL-worst 16.9 points per game in 2022.
There were several opinions on social media about the Jets’ situation, including Saleh, Hackett and Rodgers.
Packers Twitter reacted to Saleh’s firing, given his ties to Green Bay and the Jets. Some have pointed to this as an indication of the kind of work Packers head coach Matt LaFleur did with Rodgers in his later years.
LaFleur first took over as head coach in 2019, while Rodgers was in his 15th year in the league. The Packers appeared in the NFC Championship Game in his first two seasons and earned the NFC’s top seed in the playoffs in two of his first three years. Hackett was Green Bay’s offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2021, but LaFleur was the one calling the plays as the team posted the best offense in the NFL in 2020. Rodgers won two MVP awards in 2020 and 2021.