Robert Saleh walked into the Jets' facility Tuesday morning with optimism that his team would turn things around, starting with a win next Monday night over the Buffalo Bills. It was still morning, however, when Saleh left the facility after being relieved of his duties as New York's coach.
Saleh, who was stunned that Jets owner Woody Johnson made the move, will be replaced by Jeff Ulbrich, the team's defensive coordinator who is now tasked with turning the Jets' season around after a disappointing 2-3 start.
It's safe to say that Saleh's first head coaching opportunity didn't go as he has hoped it would. Instead of joining the ranks of Weeb Ewbank, Bill Parcells, Rex Ryan, Herm Edwards and Joe Walton among the franchise's most successful coaches, Saleh is instead part of the following list of the worst coaches in franchise history.
Here's where Saleh ranks on that undesirable list.
5. Pete Carroll (1994)
Record: 6-10
Carroll, who later enjoyed success at both USC and with the Seahawks, was brought in to help the Jets get over the hump after his predecessor, Bruce Coslet, was fired following an 8-8 season, the team's third consecutive non-winning season under Coslet's watch. But the Jets regressed under Carroll, who had served as the team's defensive coordinator the previous four years.
The '94 Jets were erratic during the season's first 12 weeks but stood at 6-5 following an impressive win over the Vikings. But the Jets suffered a devastating loss to the Dolphins a week later when Dan Marino thew a game-winning touchdown after faking a spike. New York never recovered from that loss and proceeded to drop its next four games to finish the campaign four games under .500.
A big reason for the Jets' late-season swoon was an underperforming offense that scored just 36 points during the season's final four games. That ultimately led to Carroll losing his job after just one year.
4. Lou Holtz (1976)
Record: 3-10
A Hall of Fame college coach who led Notre Dame to its most recent national title, Holtz's tenure with the Jets wasn't nearly as memorable. Holtz resigned with one game remaining during his lone season at the helm in New York.
The Jets had fired their previous coach during the 1975 season and finished that year with a 3-11 record. Charley Winner, the team's previous coach, went 2-7 before being fired during the '75 season. Holtz went 3-10 a year later before he too was relieved of his duties. Without Holtz, the Jets were clobbered 42-3 by the Bengals to again finish with a 3-11 record.
Under Holtz, the Jets lost their first four games but managed to get their first of two wins that year over the Bills, who finished 2-12 that season. New York's only other win that year under Holtz was against the expansion Buccaneers, who would lose their first 26 games.
3. Robert Saleh (2021-24)
Record: 20-36
Saleh inherited a mess, so he largely gets a pass for going 4-13 during his first season at the helm. The Jets' disappointing 2022 and '23 season can also largely be chalked up to poor quarterback play, especially last year when Aaron Rodgers missed essentially the entire season after getting hurt in Week 1.
There's no excuse, however, for the Jets' 2-3 start this year. Rodgers is healthy, but it's become clear that there was a growing disconnect between quarterback and coach. That, in addition to the Jets' recent underwhelming performances in losses to Denver and Minnesota, ultimately did Saleh in.
Along with winning, Saleh's biggest job was to win over Rodgers, whose relationship with his previous two NFL coaches had its ups and downs. But Saleh wasn't able to do that, and he lost his job after he failed to win enough games.
2. Adam Gase (2019-20)
Record: 9-23
It's largely been forgotten that Gase's first year in the Big Apple wasn't initially labeled as a complete failure. The team had won just 14 combined games the previous three years and went 7-9 that season after winning three of its final four games with then-second-year quarterback Sam Darnold under center.
But things went south in a hurry for the Jets and Gase, who was fired a year later after a dreadful 2-14 season. The defense plummeted to 26th in the league in points allowed, while the offense sputtered to 26th in the league in scoring. Darnold regressed that year, and high-priced 2019 free agent acquisition Le'Veon Bell was released during the season.
A big reason for his team's struggles that year was Gase's inability to foster a winning culture, as several high-profile players (including safety Jamal Adams) publicly criticized his handling of the locker room.
"I don't feel like he's the right leader for this organization to reach the promised land," Adams said at the time. "As a leader, what really bothers me is that he doesn't have a relationship with everybody in the building.
"At the end of the day, he doesn't address the team. If there's a problem in the locker room, he lets another coach address the team. If we're playing shitty and we're losing, he doesn't address the entire team as a group at halftime. He'll walk out of the locker room and let another coach handle it."
1. Rich Kotite (1995-96)
Record: 4-28
Kotite's Jets tenure was an unmitigated disaster. After experiencing some success during his previous stop as the Eagles' head coach, Kotite had no such success during his two years in New York. The Jets went 3-13 during his first season before submitting one of the worst seasons in NFL history the following year.
The 1996 Jets started 0-8, defeated the Cardinals in Week 9, then proceeded to lose their remaining seven games to finish with a 1-15 record. Kotite often looked overwhelmed as the team appeared to find new ways to lose each week. Execution was a huge issue, especially in the six games the Jets lost by a single possession.
The Jets were that bad despite having a former Pro Bowl quarterback under center (recently acquired Neil O'Donnell, who helped lead the Steelers to the Super Bowl the previous season), a 1,200-plus yard rusher in Adrian Murrell, an extremely deep receiving corps that was led by Wayne Chrebet and Keyshawn Johnson, and a defense that featured several notable players in defensive end Hugh Douglas, linebackers Mo Lewis and Marvin Jones, and defensive backs Aaron Glenn and Victor Green.
That talent was utilized a year later when Parcells came to the Big Apple. The Jets went a very surprising 9-7 in 1997 and were a game away from reaching the Super Bowl in 1998.
