Is New York's Head Coach Robert Saleh in trouble?
Yes, I believe he is.
At 7-6, the Jets find themselves once again on the bottom of the heap looking up and while the team has won more games than 2020 and 2021 combined, it is not good enough.
This is about winning championships, not taking baby steps.
While New York has been crawling in the right direction, the team has little hope of ever overtaking division rivals Buffalo or Miami in the foreseeable future, without something changing.
One of those potential changes is looming in the headlines: Sean Payton.
After coaching the Saints from 2006-2021 and going 152-89 with one Super Bowl win, Payton stepped down.
Now, he is in the headlines for a possible return to the head coaching ranks in 2023.
Could he end up leading the Jets?
Let's put it this way, New York's on-and-off-again love affair with quarterback Zach Wilson is going to get somebody or everybody fired at some point.
Accountability is built into first-round picks.
Scenario: New York loses three of the next four or all four. Could that be it for Saleh?
An 8-9 or 7-10 record could do it.
Does Saleh know he's on the hot seat?
Has he been pulled into an office and told it's playoffs or bust?
While those questions may sound borderline illogical, I am not afraid to ask them, and I am especially not afraid after Saleh's peculiar statement last week after the Buffalo loss.
"We're going to see these guys again," Saleh told reporters after the game.
He was referring to his team seeing Buffalo again in this year's playoffs.
This is Saleh's boldest statement yet, and New York is a town where you need to make good on your predictions.
If you don't believe me, ask Babe Ruth and Joe Namath.
Saleh's statement didn't strike me as being said out of confidence either. It struck me as coming from a place of desperation, and like he knows something the rest of us don't know yet.
His statement in fact is what really got me to wondering.
What if New York doesn't make the playoffs after Saleh pointed at the fence?
While team General Manager Joe Douglas didn't pay enough attention to the offensive line this off-season, I don't think he is going anywhere.
Douglas had too strong of a draft this past April. The additions of cornerback Ahmad Gardner, wide receiver Garrett Wilson and running back Breece Hall has bought him time.
Discovering undrafted running back, and NFL Pepsi Zero Sugar Player of the Week, Zonovan Knight has bought him even more time.
Adding free agents Tyler Conklin (third leading receiver), and defenders Jordan Whitehead, D.J. Reed, and Kwon Alexander (all three in the top six for team tackles) this off-season has all but glued Douglas to his chair.
Douglas has given Saleh many of the ingredients needed to cook up a championship, but instead he has watched Saleh undercook the season, dropping from 6-3 to 7-6.
Now, they must face upstart Detroit (6-7) at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
Another Jets' loss would drop them to 7-7 (.500), and it would be the team's fourth loss in the past five games.
Enter Payton back into the conversation.
Once upon a time, Payton came from Bill Parcells' coaching tree, and Parcells was packing his office back when Woody Johnson bought the team.
I remember. I was there.
Recent one-year quick turnarounds by other teams aren't helping Saleh's cause either. A total of 11 wins in two years isn't exactly something anybody wants to put up on their fridge, which is his win total to date.
Cincinnati went from 4-11 in 2020 to making it to the Super Bowl the next year.
Tampa Bay went from 7-9 in 2019 to winning the Super Bowl the following season.
It doesn't take years to figure this out.
It takes having the right people in place.
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