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New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh is, as the kids say, very Stu Pickled coded — a reference for the young and the old in one sentence, this is why they pay me the big bucks — which is to say that he’s no longer in control of his life.
Ever since the Jets traded for future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers in April 2023, that’s who Saleh has been working for. He’s no longer in control of the team — Rodgers is.
All the evidence you need is that Rodgers was the only member of the Jets — other than recently traded-for pass rush Haason Reddick, who is holding out for a new contract — to skip the mandatory minicamp, so he could take a trip to Egypt. One player having different rules than the others is the definition of special treatment.
While Rodgers’ absence from the minicamp would’ve made headlines anyway, Saleh made it a much bigger story by telling the media that the absorber was “unexcused” — which, technically, it was.
Saleh’s comments upset Rodgers and reports indicate the pair needed to have a conversation to smooth things out.
The hot seat-sitting NYJ HC is certainly making it known how much Rodgers is in control, as he laid some thick praise on the signal-caller for being like a coach on the field — a classic cliche about great players.
“Yeah, I’ve said it, he’s a coach on the field,” Saleh told reporters this week. “I mean, there’s — I’ve heard stories of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, not to compare them, but it’s the same thing. The expectation and the standard is high. As a quarterback, he’s trying to operate at a certain level of efficiency, which means people around him need to be efficient at the same level.”
Saleh continued and made sure to include a Jets defensive player in his analogy, highlighting Pro Bowl linebacker CJ Mosley.
“And when — when he’s not feeling that as a group’s leader and voice, he voices his opinion, and it’s no different than the defensive side of the ball, when it’s not going the way people want it, CJ [Mosely] voice is his opinion. He’s definitely — I’ve said it before, it’s like having a coach on the field.”
Saleh, Rodgers, and the rest of Gang Green head into a must-win season, as failure to reach the playoffs will certainly mean the end of Saleh’s Jets’ career and likely the end of Rodgers’, too.
Unfortunately for everyone involved, the team is currently in the midst of the longest postseason drought in American professional sports (13 years and counting) and is the third-betting favorite to win their division behind the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins.