Oct 6, 2024; London, United Kingdom; New York Jets coach Robert Saleh (left) and Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell shake hands after the game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images.
The Minnesota Vikings were the final straw.
The purple team chipped off the New York Jets in London on Sunday, and two later, the Jets said sayonara to their head coach, firing Robert Saleh on Tuesday.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter succinctly tweeted, “ESPN sources: Jets fired HC Robert Saleh.”
A stunning development indeed, New York will now turn to defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. NFL Network‘s Tom Pelissero posted on X, “Jeff Ulbrich is a former player and highly respected in the Jets building. The logical choice to take over as interim HC, and his team will be playing for a piece of first place in the AFC East at home Monday night against the Bills.”
The Jets produced a 20-36 (.357) record on Saleh’s watch, the NFL’s third-worst mark during the timeframe, 2021 to Week 5 of 2024. New York never truly nailed down the QB1 spot with Saleh in charge, vacillating between failed draft picks like Zach Wilson and Mike White and veterans like Aaron Rodgers and Trevor Siemian. Many believed last year that the Jets merely needed a competent quarterback to contend for a Super Bowl in 2024, but even with Rodgers in the saddle, New York is in the same spot as last season — a 2-3 record while scoring just 93 points.
Yahoo’s Charles Robinson added context on the timing of Saleh’s departure: “So Robert Saleh gets fired by the Jets. Poor showings in London NFL games are an absolute deathknell for head coaches. Especially when your owner just served as the ambassador of Britain. This is an ownership firing. 100-percent.”
Since Saleh’s hire, the Jets rank 13th on defense per EPA/Play and 32nd on offense.
The Saleh termination is also fascinating from a Vikings perspective because there’s a reasonable chance that the organization will need a defensive coordinator next offseason. Minnesota’s current defensive coordinator, Brian Flores, is turning heads again around the business, showcasing the NFL’s best defense, and could garner head coaching attention in 3-4 months. If he leaves for a head coach position, Minnesota will need a replacement coordinator, and Saleh would be a realistic option.
Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah crossed paths with Saleh on the San Francisco 49ers’ staff in three seasons, from 2017 to 2019, when Adofo-Mensah served as the Director of Football Research and Development, and Saleh was the defensive coordinator.
Saleh will turn 46 in January. Few expected the termination, at least not this early in the regular season.
The Jets have a +2800 moneyline to win the Super Bowl, the 11th-highest in the NFL.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.