Jets owner Woody Johnson says he fired Robert Saleh 1 day after meeting with Aaron Rodgers

By Jackson Thompson

Published October 08, 2024

Woody Johnson reportedly solely carried out Robert Saleh's firing | The Facility

The New York Jets' firing of head coach Robert Saleh came just one day after a meeting between owner Woody Johnson and quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the owner said on Tuesday.

Johnson said he met with Rodgers on Monday night, just prior to the firing, but that Rodgers had no input in the decision made Tuesday morning, the owner told reporters on a conference call later in the day. Johnson also said no one had any input on the Saleh firing except for him.

Rodgers has not spoken out about Saleh's firing since it happened. Rodgers was originally scheduled to appear on ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show" on Tuesday, but his appearance was pushed back to Wednesday.

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Robert Saleh (Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images)

The relationship between Saleh and Rodgers has been heavily dissected this season amid a series of questionable moments between the quarterback and coach.

During a win against the New England Patriots in Week 3, Rodgers was seen rejecting a hug from Saleh. The coach told reporters after the game that the rejection was in response to staying focused on the game.

"Part of the things that we’ve been talking about is to just get the defense a two-score lead," Saleh told reporters at the time. "And it was a two-score lead, so I guess he just wanted to see something on defense. He just reminded me that we got a two-score lead.

FORMER JETS QUARTERBACK REVISITS AWKWARD HUG BETWEEN ROBERT SALEH, ARRON RODGERS AFTER FIRING

Robert Saleh, left, and Aaron Rodgers (Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Rodgers said he didn't know that Saleh was going for a hug at the time.

"He’s not a big hugger, usually. So, I didn’t know he was going for the hug. He likes to do the two-hand chest push as well. But he talks a lot about two-score leads. So I kind of just gave him a push and said ‘two-score lead.’ That’s what happened."

The quarterback later said that he and Saleh "have a great relationship" during an episode of McAfee's show.

"Rob and I have a great relationship," Rodgers said during an appearance. "We have since day one when I got here. We have text message conversations, threads that we’re in, conversations about a number of different topics outside of football. We have a good friendship."

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Then-New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh watches his team against the Tennessee Titans during the second half at Nissan Stadium. (Steve Roberts-Imagn Images)

Saleh was reportedly escorted out of the team building by security. The coach went 20-36 with New York and never won more than seven games a year while at the helm.

The Jets are off to a 2-3 start this year after losing to the Minnesota Vikings, 23-17, in London on Sunday and are among the most penalized teams in the league this season.

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Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson's reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.

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