Following the surprise firing of New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday, Saleh broke his silence by providing a statement to the media:
“To the Jets Organization, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with so many incredible people. I will always be appreciative of the love and support from everyone at 1 Jets Drive.
To all of the players, I truly love and appreciate every single one of you. The character of the men in the locker room made coaching you guys the ultimate privilege. Through all the ups and downs, each and every one of you showed up every day and attacked every moment.
To my fellow coaches and staff, it has been an honor to work with all of you. Every one of you was ‘all in’ and made sacrifices for one another that will never be forgotten. I wish you all the very best of luck for the remainder of the season.
To the most passionate fan base in the NFL, thank you for embracing my family. It has been a pleasure calling New York our home, and we will forever appreciate all of the memories that were created here.
With love and regard,
All Gas No Brake!!!”
According to reports, including ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Saleh was informed of the decision by the ownership group around 10 A.M. EST on Tuesday, October 8th. Soon after, owner Woody Johnson took to social media to release a message of his own, saying he “thanked Saleh for his three and a half years of service and wished him and his family well moving forward.”
Despite the abrupt firing and the lingering feeling of being done wrong by the organization — especially with reports of him being escorted out by security — Saleh kept the farewell message classy and professional.
The decision to let Saleh go took the football world by surprise, as they stuck by the coach while waiting for their star quarterback to return. Now that he’s on the field again, they only gave him a leash of five games before ultimately deciding to part ways.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will step in as the interim head coach until the end of the season. He originally joined the Jets in 2021 with Saleh.
With an overall record of 20-36 after 56 games, perhaps things would have been different if he had another quarterback instead of No. 2 pick Zach Wilson.