New York Jets owner Woody Johnson has never, in the 24 years since he’s bought the team, fired a coach mid-season. And he’s had some real disappointing head coaches – Adam “the Gaze” Gase among them. But after a disappointing 2023, followed by a bafflingly played 2024, Robert Saleh had to go. He didn’t even make it a third of the way through the season. But who’s going to replace him?

Well, as much as fans may hope for Bill Belichick to line up and take the seat, we’re afraid that’s not happening. Belichick has bad blood with the Jets. If you’ve seen the documentary “The Two Bills,” featuring Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells, you would’ve heard the venom in their voices when they speak about the Jets. They much prefer the Giants. When Parcells stepped down as Jets head coach in 2000, Belichick replaced him, but he was there for just a day before resigning. Chaos reigned supreme in the aftermath. He’s not coming back, face it.

Until the Jets decide on a long-term replacement, defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will be taking over as interim head coach. Makes sense. It was their offense that really faltered. They banked too much on Aaron Rodgers’ form post-recovery. That, paired with some very unorthodox play calling by Saleh, hobbled the Jets’ campaign. Hence, why they’re languishing at 2-3 right now. Their defense has actually been excellent, they’re second best in terms of the lowest yards conceded, behind only the Titans.

Woody Johnson’s put his weight behind Ulbrich for now. He said, “He is a tough coach who has the respect of the coaches and players on this team.” Ulbrich joined the team in 2021, and was earlier with the Falcons, with whom he served in a number of roles since 2015. But what about the rumors floating around the HC’s sacking?

Was Rodgers a major factor?

You know how rumor mills can be. On a team that’s fielding the oldest quarterback in the league, of course there’s going to be talk of internal politics. Could he have had a voice in the owner’s ear when the decision was made? How else do you explain him breaking his 24-year-old rule? There was, of course, the awkward shove when Saleh tried to hug Rodgers last month. Plus, the general atmosphere seemed really tense.

Things were aggravated when Saleh went out of his way to blame Rodgers after their most recent loss. If there’s one thing a coach at this level in this day and age should know, it’s not to blame your players. They’re your players, you’re responsible for them, you have to get them playing at that level. Jaguars coach Doug Pederson recently came under fire for making the same mistake, and he’s in hot waters too. Mid-season dismissal might become a trend if things carry on as they have.

We can tell you for certain, even if Rodgers didn’t have a hand in Saleh’s dismissal, nobody would call it an abuse of influence if he’d made his opinion known to Woody Johnson.