Hall of Fame coach rips Jets owner Woody Johnson over Robert Saleh firing

Hours after the fact, members of the NFL community failed to understand why New York Jets owner Woody Johnson chose Tuesday to fire head coach Robert Saleh with the team at 2-3. 

Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy is among those who questioned Johnson's decision despite New York's offensive woes over the season's first five weeks. 

"I don’t know what the Jets ownership is thinking," Dungy told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. "You’re five games into the season and getting ready to play a game for first place in your division and you fire the coach. In 1999, my Tampa Bay Buccaneers were 2-3 and we went on to go to the NFC Championship Game. I’m glad I didn’t get fired after Week 5 that year." 

Dungy went 24-24 as Tampa Bay head coach from 1996 through the 1998 season, and he guided the '97 Buccaneers to a playoff berth and a wild-card postseason victory. To compare, Saleh accumulated an overall record of 18-33 with zero playoff appearances across his first three campaigns with the Jets.

The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt and Dianna Russini reported that Johnson didn't want to fire Saleh after the 2023 Jets went 7-10 because the owner didn't think he'd "be able to find someone better" on the open market and also because quarterback Aaron Rodgers wanted Saleh to remain in the job. Rodgers joined the Jets from the Green Bay Packers via a trade completed in April 2023 but was then sidelined for almost all of his first season with New York due to a torn Achilles he suffered in Week 1. 

Rosenblatt and Russini mentioned that "Saleh was losing support" among some players coming off back-to-back losses that featured New York's offense failing its defense. Rosenblatt and Russini added that Jeff Ulbrich, promoted from defensive coordinator to interim head coach, "is beloved by the Jets roster and staff." 

Credit Dungy for supporting a fellow member of the coaching fraternity, but the harsh truth is that as of Tuesday morning, there was no sign that Saleh would match what Dungy achieved during his tenures with the Bucs and Indianapolis Colts. Saleh being outcoached in at least three of this season's first five games likely left little doubt in Johnson's mind that a change needed to be made to save what was, as of Labor Day, a promising campaign for the organization.