As he is wont to do, New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is bristling at the media reports he had had anything to do with his team’s recent decision to fire head coach Robert Saleh.
The firing, which abruptly came Tuesday, sent some shock waves through the NFL.
While Saleh’s win-loss record alone (20-36) likely justified the firing, the timing of it certainly raised eyebrows.
It’s not typical for a team to fire a coach five games into a season, especially one that is surprisingly in the thick of the playoff hunt.
The Jets are 2-3, and despite back-to-back ugly losses, are still within striking distance of winning the AFC East.
You just don’t typically fire a coach, whose offensive and defensive systems are already in place post-training camp, five games into a season where playoff aspirations are alive and well, so naturally, speculation began that there was more to this story.
As ESPN notes, there were reports that Saleh was planning on demoting offensive coordinator and play-caller Nathaniel Hackett — a known close friend of Rodgers.
That report obviously gave credence to the idea that Rodgers, whether it be a big or small one, played some sort of role in Saleh’s ouster.
A day after the firing and subsequent speculation, the 40-year-old Rodgers showed up on the podcast of another friend, outspoken ESPN personality and controversial former NFL punter Pat McAfee, to set the record straight.
Do you buy that Rodgers had nothing to do with Saleh’s firing?
Yes: 40% (6 Votes)
No: 60% (9 Votes)
“As far as any of the ridiculous allegations out there, I’m not going to spend more than one sentence in response to it,” Rodgers told McAfee. “And that is that I resent any of those accusations, because they are patently false.
“It’s interesting the amount of power that people think that I have, which I don’t.
“I love Robert.”
Of note, McAfee did not press Rodgers on the Hackett situation.
Rodgers was otherwise completely complimentary of Saleh during the near-40 minute segment, which you can watch below:
WARNING: The following clip contains language that some viewers may find offensive.
BREAKING: FULL convo with @AaronRodgers12 from today.
We talked about the firing of Coach Saleh and his thoughts on all of the accusations and assumptions around it all. The future of the offense and the mindset going forward.. and there was also a reference to fingering scotch… pic.twitter.com/qS2WUw6KYQ
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 9, 2024
The Jets will now be led by interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich, a longtime linebacker in the NFL.
Regardless of any lingering feelings regarding Saleh’s sudden departure, Ulbrich, Rodgers, and the Jets have a huge game coming up on Monday.
The Jets will host their bitter divisional rivals, the Buffalo Bills, on Monday. Should the Jets win, they will be tied with the Bills, record-wise, atop the AFC East.
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