The blame for the New York Jet’s 7-10 record for the last season was cast upon Zach Wilson, who tried to fill in Aaron Rodgers’ shoes but failed miserably. No one looked at Robert Saleh as the reason for the team’s failure until the 4x MVP came back into the picture. With Rodgers’ return, there was a new energy in the New York Jets locker room, and everyone was happy. Well, for a while…

The team’s 2-3 start was quite upsetting, and things worsened after the Jets’ excessive penalties against the Broncos. They became even worse when Woody Johnson had to witness his team lose in London in front of his friends. This prompted NFL insiders Tom Pelissero, Judy Battista, and Mike Garofolo to reflect on the Jets’ abysmal performance last season

“They were the most penalized team last season. They’re the most penalized team right now, that didn’t get cleaned up. They were starting slow, just as they started slow last year. They were starting slow this year. They looked unprepared. Sometimes they look lethargic and let’s be blunt, there was no Zach Wilson to blame it all on,” Battista said on The Insiders show.

She feels history is repeating itself. The Jets were the most penalized team in 2023 (124 penalties) and they are the most penalized team right now. Since 2023, the team has been called for the most penalties in the league (163).

“Last year, you could dump it all on Zach Wilson and that they weren’t happy that they didn’t have an adequate backup quarterback. There was no excuse this year.”

Saleh was hired in 2021 as the Jets HC and has amassed a 20-36 record ever since. In three-plus seasons as the HC, the team never made it to the playoffs. He went 4-13 in his first season and 7-10 in the next two seasons.

Out of these 56 games, Wilson started 33 of them and is 13-21 (including the one where he didn’t start). But with Rodgers in command, things still didn’t improve.

However, it would be a mistake not to point out that Rodgers had many incompletions. In fact, during the Vikings game, Rodgers threw two interceptions in the first quarter. While Saleh might have been a good defensive coordinator, sources suggest that he left all offensive decisions to Nathaniel Hackett and Aaron Rodgers, which is somewhat negligent.

That loss against the Broncos forced Robert Saleh to comment on Aaron Rodgers’ cadence and then he backpedaled. Woody Johnson might have been fuming because Saleh saying that the offense doesn’t understand Rodgers’ Cadence is a bit naive.

Woody Johnson is tired of Robert Saleh…

They say it’s insanity to do the same thing over and over and expect a different result. Woody Johnson had enough after he watched his team average the fewest points per game (17.3) and have the most giveaways (89) in the NFL since his tenure began. The team co-owner had something to say about this on Tuesday.

“One of the reasons I decided to make a coaching change is exactly that, we need to find ways to win,” Johnson said. “We’re not going to find those ways by doing the same thing over and over and over.” The dysfunction in the organization became clear when Rodgers asked Saleh to hold the players accountable for not being able to understand complex cadences.

After the loss against Vikings, Jets‘ Quincy Williams also implored Jets players to “start taking accountability.” That’s clearly a stance that aligns with that of A-Rod. Firing Robert Saleh and replacing him with Jeff Ulbrich was the owner’s way of replenishing the team’s long-lost hunger to win games.

“This is one of most talented teams that has ever been assembled by the New York Jets,” Johnson said Tuesday. “I wanted to give this team the most opportunity to win this season. I feel that we had to go in a different direction and that’s why I did that today. The change we made, I made, I believe will bring new energy and positivity that will lead to more wins starting now.”

Saleh was escorted out of the building by the director of security. They didn’t do it when they fired Adam Gase, Saleh’s predecessor. Maybe Woody Johnson is tired of running around in circles after all. What do you think?