The Next Jets Head Coach

Edition #718

Good morning!☕

There’s only one place to start today with the sad news yesterday that Jets great Abdul Salaam has sadly passed away aged 71. The first member of the famed New York Sack Exchange. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.

"You don't get anything without a struggle," Salaam said in 1980. "But I love struggle. Every day it's a struggle for me to do my job, and I'm sure it's a struggle for you to do yours. But if you don't struggle, you won't be able to get up in the morning."

It’s never boring as a Jets fan. We may not win a lot, but we’ve usually got plenty to talk about. We’ve got a little extra time this week with the team playing on Monday Night against the Bills, so I thought I’d take an early look at who could potentially take over for the Jets in 2025.

I’m going to be writing a Jeff Ulbrich piece for the Official Jets website here in the UK, so keep your eyes peeled for that one. So while there’s a very good chance the new man in charge could be the current man in charge, I’m not going to talk about him today.

Congratulations to the Mets who advanced to the NLDS last night beating the Phillies 4-1 thanks to a Lindor Grand Slam. The Mets give me real hope for the Jets, sure there wasn’t as much expectation but the team from Queens started slow and at one point found themselves 17 games out, but in the second half they were the hottest team in baseball and that’s carried through to the playoffs. You just have to get hot at the right time. They will play either the Padres or Dodgers depending on game five, head over to Mets Fix for the latest views and news.

As always we’re going to start with some quick throws, so grab your morning cup of joe and let’s get into it.

• Woody Johnson made a statement about how he believes players react and respond to Jeff Ulbrich - "I've seen him coach, I know the relationship he has with the players and they respect him," Johnson said. "They trust him. I've seen it at halftime and I've seen it in practice. When he talks, they listen to him in a way that probably represents the fact that he did play the sport as linebacker for 10 years, which is pretty unique. He brings that knowledge and the respect and the knowledge to the game in a way that I think that will be very good for the players going forward." Which reminded me that I forgot to put this video into yesterday’s newsletter which was shared by Jim Nagy of a pre-game speech made by Ulbrich while he was acting Head Coach.

• Aaron Rodgers had his weekly appearance on the Pat McAfee show and here are some highlight quotes from him:

  • “It’s not going to be wholesale changes I don’t think but he’s going to add his (Brick’s) own style … I expect a steady hand from him and great leadership. I think he’s going to do a great job.”

  • “Our relationship (Hackett) is great it always has been and always will be. There was going to be some things that needed to change regardless of what happened to Robert.”

  • “I did talk to Woody. He called me on Monday night. We had a short conversation. He just asked me how I was doing … we talked about the game, how disappointed I was in my performance and how we’re gonna get this thing turned around and we hung up. Woody has no obligation to let me know what his plans are.”

  • On the idea that he was responsible for getting Saleh fired - “I resent any of those accusations because they’re patently false. It’s interesting the amount of power think I have which I don’t. But I love Robert.”

  • “Yesterday was a day that reminds you of the simple fact that it’s a tough business … I love Coach Saleh. We have a very solid relationship, we have since I met him in 2021 … he was a big reason why I came to the Jets.”

• The Jets announced that they have released Anthony Hines from the practice squad and signed S Jaylen Key and OL Alec Lindstrom.

• Jeff Ulbrich had this to say about Aaron Rodgers - "I have a good relationship with Aaron, He is, he's one of those guys that has ... he has just unbelievable experience and he's seen this game at the highest level for a long time. So he's a guy with a lot of ideas and really positive feedback about a lot of different things, whether it be meetings, practice, game-planning, scheduling, all of it. So, he will be a vital resource for me in that way, for sure."

• Ulbrich also said that he spoke to Rodgers about the need for change - "I think the biggest thing, and actually, Aaron and I spoke about this earlier today, about there has to be an element of change. The players have to feel that, whether that's our process, whether that's scheduling meetings, practice, night before games, whatever that is, there has to be, there has to be a change bigger than just me now assuming the head coaching role. So, we're going to take a hard look at all that we do and the process in which we get to Monday night and make the changes we think are necessary."

• With all the news yesterday I haven’t done power rankings roundup this week, but here’s one for you from NFL.com who dropped the Jets from #15 to #20 after their loss to Minnesota in London - “Where do we begin? Aaron Rodgers took ownership for his poor moments in the London loss to Minnesota, and New York's defense had its hands completely full early on, but the narrative shifted dramatically on Tuesday morning when the Jets dropped a bombshell with the firing of head coach Robert Saleh. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich is now left to pick up the pieces of a 2-3 start as the interim coach, with little time to assess everyone's feelings about the current mess. There's a massive game on tap, with the teetering Bills coming to MetLife on Monday and both teams nearly desperate for a win. Can the Jets change their fortunes by getting in the Davante Adams trade mix? Or has that ship now sailed? There are a lot of plates spinning with this team -- and one crashed to the floor on Tuesday.”

• I think we’ve really missed Morgan Moses the last two weeks and he’s one of those guys who seems ready to take accountability every week: "It doesn't matter what play is called or who is calling the plays, it's up to us as individuals to go out there and make those plays."

Here’s a great breakdown on what’s wrong with the Jets offence right now.

The Jets don’t tend to hire offensive minded coaches, but the NFL is an offensive league and that trend doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.

Whenever a coaching cycle comes around my philosophy tends to revolve around the best candidate full stop, whether it be an offensive or defensive guy.

But with how things have been recently and with what we’ve seen so far this year, I’m starting my thoughts on the head coach by looking at three offensive coaches.