Report: Aaron Rodgers is the 'Lifeline' Saving Everyone on the Jets Staff from Getting Fired
It's hard to imagine anyone in the NFL has suffered more in 2023 than Robert Saleh. Long before he was served this Double Stuf Oreo shit sandwich of his big commercial debut airing right after the worst Thanksgiving Day play by his franchise since The Butt Fumble, the man hasn't had a moment's peace.
Sure, there are coaches doing worse than his 4-7. But none of them were burdened by the dreaded Weight of Expectation going into this season the way he was. And mere minutes into the season, all his hopes were snapped like an old quarterback's Achilles tendon. Quite literally. Now even his No. 4 defense from last year - which was supposed to be Super Bowl-caliber and only needed the missing piece of Aaron Rodgers to get them there - has tumbled to 15th in yards allowed and 18th in points as it's struggled to carry an offense that is bottom three in every category.
As such, you'd be safe to assume Saleh should start looking around his office deciding what he wants to keep so he can be ready to pack up when the inevitable firing comes. The NFL has a certain unmistakable cycle to coaching hires. Unless you're a real Board Certified imbecile like Urban Meyer, you get at least a full season to demonstrate you're turning the program around. Only someone who really alienates his entire locker room like Joe Judge or Josh McDaniels (twice) doesn't get to finish a second year. But when you're well into your third year and things aren't improving, all the excuses about injuries and so on won't save you. Owners don't want to hear about circumstances that were beyond your control; they expect you to control them.
And with Saleh sitting at 15-30 for his career with no hope in sight except - and I can't believe I'm capable of even typing this but such is my reality at this point - a probable win over the Patriots in the last game, you have to believe he won't be back in 2024. But according to this report, you'd be wrong:
Source - There isn’t much reason for hope, to believe that coach Robert Saleh will be able to stave off the in-progress collapse after a 4-3 start. At present, his record as Jets coach is 15-30. Joe Douglas’ record as GM: 24-53.
Yet internally, the Jets are operating as if the whole regime — Saleh, Douglas and even offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett — will be back in 2024.
That’s because Aaron Rodgers is their lifeline.
Rodgers, who turns 40 on Saturday, might wield more power than any other player in the NFL. It goes beyond the personnel influence he deployed this offseason, motivating Douglas to sign Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, Billy Turner and Dalvin Cook — none of whom has made an impact.
Allow me to interrupt here to point out that all of these players have made an impact. As has Nathanial Hackett, who was hired just to be Rodgers personal OC. Just not the impact they were hoping for, as Jets fans have illustrated:
The Athletic continues:
Owner Woody Johnson is almost certainly dissatisfied with the Jets’ offense this season … but Saleh and Douglas can dangle the Rodgers carrot. They can say that his return will fix all of their problems. …
Rodgers has the power to ensure their job security: If he says that he’ll return only if this coaching staff remains intact, then it will be locked in and safe. Johnson values Rodgers’ opinion and it would be surprising if he didn’t seek it out.
And so it is that the NBA-ification is complete. A superstar veteran forces his way off one team and onto another. He forces the hand of his new GM to surround him with people he's comfortable with. And when things don't work out due to injury, ineffectiveness or general don't-give-a-shittedness, a multi-billion franchise is completely hamstrung to fix it. They ceded all the control to one athlete, and he weilds more power than the baby powder magnate who actually owns everything and pays all the bills. Replace the name Rodgers with Lebron, and we've seen this dynamic play out a dozen times or more.
But like anyone with survival instinct in a situation like this, Saleh and Douglas have cast their lot with the guy who calls all the shots. In 2023, they reached out to him. Help us, Aaron Rodgers. You're our only hope. Now that it's all blown up in their faces, he's the only hope for Saleh and Douglas to have jobs in 2024. Whether or not it's in the best interest of the Jets to stick with the Saleh/Douglas/Hackett/Rodgers braintrust, they have to. Because a 39-year-old QB became a vessel into which they poured all their dreams for the future. A future that doesn't exist without him and the people he wants to work with.
So good move, Woody Johnson. I hope those four snaps you got out of Rodgers (technically five if you count his Achilles) was worth the mess he's created. He's running the Jets now, and there's nothing that can be done short of blowing it all up. Again.