The New York Jets have confirmed that they have parted ways with head coach Robert Saleh, who becomes the first boss to lose his job in the 2024 NFL season.
The Jets possess an underwhelming record of 2-3 after their first five games of the current campaign, starting with a 32-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers before successive wins over the Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots.
However, Saleh's team were then edged out 9-10 by the Denver Broncos on September 29, before a 17-23 defeat to the Minnesota Vikings at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium over the weekend.
Those back-to-back defeats leave the Jets second in the AFC East behind the Buffalo Bills, and eighth in the American Conference standings overall, just outside the playoff picture.
Following reports earlier on Monday that Saleh had been relieved of his duties, the Jets have now announced the 45-year-old's departure, ending a near four-year stint in the hotseat since his appointment in January 2021.
"This morning, I informed Robert Saleh that he will no longer serve as the head coach of the Jets," Jets co-owner Woody Johnson said in a statement. "I thanked him for his hard work these past three years and wished him and his family well moving forward.
Jeff Ulbrich named interim Jets head coach
"This was not an easy decision, but we are not where we should be given our expectations, and I believe now is the best time for us to move in a different direction."
Saleh departs with a record of 20 wins and 36 losses from 56 matches in charge of the Jets, whom he failed to take to the postseason in any of his three campaigns in charge.
In his place, defensive coordinator and former 49ers linebacker Jeff Ulbrich has been promoted to interim head coach, a position that he will hold for the remainder of the season.
Prior to joining Saleh at the Jets in 2021, Ulbrich also served as a defensive coordinator, assistant head coach and linebackers coach for the Atlanta Falcons, as well as taking up the role of assistant specials teams coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks between 2010 and 2011.
"He is a tough coach who has the respect of the coaches and players on this team. I believe he along with the coaches on this staff can get the most out of our talented team and attain the goals we established this offseason," Johnson said of Ulbrich.
The 47-year-old's first match in charge of the Jets comes against AFC East leaders Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium on Monday, and he will endeavour to lead the New York franchise to the playoffs for the first time since 2010.
