The New York Jets stunned the NFL world on Tuesday when they fired Robert Saleh, and naturally there has been speculation that Aaron Rodgers had a hand in the decision. It does not sound like that was the case, however.
According to NFL reporter Jordan Schultz, Rodgers and Saleh had been getting along prior to the coach being fired. Schultz said it was Jets owner Woody Johnson who decided to move on from Saleh despite Saleh and Rodgers having a good relationship.
Robert Saleh's relationship with Aaron Rodgers was NOT fractured, despite speculation, according to multiple sources. The two were getting along. The firing of Robert Saleh was carried out solely by Woody Johnson this morning. https://t.co/syDwzCiXZn pic.twitter.com/nvBIuEQWsg
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) October 8, 2024
As ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted, Saleh is the first head coach to be fired by the Jets midseason in Johnson’s 25-year tenure as the team’s owner. Johnson obviously felt that the Jets had reached their ceiling under Saleh in the wake of their disappointing 2-3 start this year and three consecutive losing seasons.
Even if Rodgers truly had nothing to do with Saleh’s dismissal, there had been some signs of tension between the two in recent weeks. The most notable was when Rodgers seemed openly annoyed with a suggestion Saleh made for how the Jets could improve following their Week 4 loss to the Denver Broncos.
We will probably never know if Johnson consulted Rodgers before firing Saleh, but all signs point to ownership having made the decision independent of what their 40-year-old quarterback wanted. At the very least, Johnson probably would have hesitated to fire Saleh if Rodgers wanted the coach to stay.
