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New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers partially blamed himself for the firing of former head coach Robert Saleh as well as his longtime offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett losing play-calling duties.
“We all feel terrible about the opportunity that we had, that we squandered that led to Robert getting fired and Hack getting demoted. If I play better, this doesn’t happen,” Rodgers said Thursday (October 10) via the New York Post. “If we’re better on offense, this doesn’t happen. I think it puts a spotlight on us. Now it’s on us to do this. We need to be accountable to each other, and we’ve got to raise the level of play to the standard that we set during training camp.”
Rodgers previously denied "any of those accusations" claiming he was responsible for Saleh's firing in any way, specifically after reports that the former head coach planned to take away the play-calling duties from Hackett, a decision that was confirmed by interim Jeff Ulrbich earlier this week. Rodgers had previously worked with Hackett during their shared tenures with the Green Bay Packers, which included the quarterback's last two of four MVP seasons, and publicly defended the coordinator after a failed one-year stint as the Denver Broncos' head coach.
"It's a tough business," Rodgers said during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show Wednesday (October 9). "It's a beautiful profession, it's incredible, it's done so much for our lives but it's also a really tough business. I love Coach Saleh, we have a very solid relationship, we have since I met him in 2021...he was a big reason why I came to the Jets, I felt like the team was a solid team. I had a relationship with Coach Hackett, obviously, and I really liked Coach Saleh."
Rodgers also claimed he spoke to team owner Woody Johnson the night before Saleh's firing but was unaware of his decision ahead of time.
“I did talk to Woody. He called me on Monday night. We had a short conversation. He just asked me how I was doing … we talked about the game, how disappointed I was in my performance and how we’re gonna get this thing turned around and we hung up. Woody has no obligation to let me know what his plans are," Rodgers said via the Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt.
Saleh went 20-36 during his tenure as the Jets' head coach, which includes a 2-3 start to the 2024 season. New York finished last in the AFC East during Saleh's first two seasons and third in 2023, having entered with high expectations following the acquisition of Rodgers, who suffered a season-ending Achilles injury on the team's opening drive.
Rodgers has played in all five of the Jets' games in 2024, but struggled in losses to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday (October 6) and Denver Broncos in Week 4.