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Following the New York Jets’ latest embarrassing loss, this time to the Miami Dolphins, reports indicate that head coach Robert Saleh is losing the confidence of the locker room, if he hasn’t already lost it.
One of the more telling quotes after the loss came from wide receiver Allen Lazard — who, to be fair, has done nothing to help Saleh this season after signing a $44 million contract in the offseason — who said that the Dolphins “out-schemed us, out-efforted us.”
Star wide receiver Garrett Wilson agreed with Lazard, telling The Athletic: “Yeah… If Allen said it, it’s probably true.”
As a result of the embarrassing shutout loss, both SNY’s Connor Hughes and The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt reported on Monday that Saleh’s standing in the locker room and they both seemed to suggest he’s on the verge of losing his grip on it.
“There is losing games, and then there is losing the locker room, and Saleh is getting dangerously close to the latter. It might already be happening.” [via The Athletic]
“Coaches can endure losing seasons. They happen. The death knell is when he loses the locker room. The on-field performance and postgame quotes illustrate players are dangerously close to turning. They’ve made off-the-record remarks in recent weeks. Now they’re saying them in front of cameras. [via SNY]
The problem Saleh faces, however, is that with the team being officially eliminated from playoff contention and QB Zach Wilson perhaps not seeing the field again, his task of keeping the locker room together and motivated is more difficult than ever.
That’s only compounded by the fact that the man who will most likely save his job, Aaron Rodgers, is also the person partially responsible for the situation they’re in, anyway.
Not only did Rodgers get injured just four snaps into the season (perhaps as a result of proper preparation and conditioning due to… whatever type of diets and drugs he does these days) but he’s also the reason that offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett is still employed despite his inability to do anything to spark his unit into life this season.
In their final 3 games of the 2023 season, the Jets will face off against Washington Commanders, Cleveland Browns, and New England Patriots.