Former Jets Coach Speed-Dated Offensive Coordinators in Offseason: Report

Before the New York Jets fired Robert Saleh, he spent an offseason trying to upgrade his offensive coaching room.

Oct 6, 2024; London, United Kingdom; New York Jets coach Robert Saleh reacts against the Minnesota Vikings in the first half at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

When the New York Jets fired Robert Saleh as head coach on Tuesday, it came out of the blue. In the post mortem of the move, much of the reason why came down to the offense.

The Jets (2-3) were coming off back-to-back weeks in which the offense was awful. The scheme was vanilla under Nathaniel Hackett. The Jets could not muster a run game and, against Minnesota, quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw three interceptions.

As it turns out, Saleh spent the offseason try to find an upgrade on the offensive coaching staff, according to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.

On Saturday, she reported that Saleh’s previously-reported flirtation with Arthur Smith was just the tip of the iceberg.

The Jets actually spoke to four potential new offensive coordinators in the offseason, all of which are working for other teams — Eric Bieniemy (now UCLA’s offensive coordinator), Kliff Kingsbury (now the Commanders’ offensive coordinator), Luke Getsy (now the Raiders’ offensive coordinator) and Smith (now the Steelers’ offensive coordinator).

None of them were hired, of course. But, why? Without Rodgers, the Jets went 7-11 last season and while Saleh and Hackett didn’t have the roster they were hoping for, the scheme didn’t change much from last season to this season.

Well, per Russini, while Saleh wanted change, he wasn’t willing to pull the trigger on creating a spot for the new coach — which would have meant doing something with Hackett:

Saleh wanted to add a great mind to the offensive staff, and if he had succeeded, he might still have a job, but it proved too difficult to make an addition since he didn’t have an “offensive coordinator” title to offer.

Kingsbury is managing the incredible start of quarterback Jayden Daniels, the early favorite for NFL offensive rookie of the year. Smith is resurrecting quarterback Justin Fields’ career with the Steelers. Both landed in great spots.

In the end, Saleh’s efforts to upgrade the staff didn’t work out, and it likely cost him his job. The kicker is that Rodgers was reportedly apprised of the offseason work to upgrade the staff. So he knew there was dissatisfaction with Hackett even before the season.

The irony, of course, is that Saleh had finally, reportedly, decided to demote Hackett from OC and promote Todd Downing to play-caller minutes before Jets owner Woody Johnson fired him with a 20-36 record.

Johnson views the Jets “…as a team ready to compete now and wanted to make a move to get things on the right track before it was too late.”

The Jets and interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich face Buffalo on Monday night. By game’s end, everyone may know whether it’s truly “too late” for New York.