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Former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh's decision to wear the Lebanese flag during last Sunday's (October 6) loss to the Minnesota Vikings reportedly had no role in his firing on Tuesday (October 8), sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to TMZ Sports on Wednesday (October 9).
Saleh, 45, the son of Lebanese immigrants, had previously worn a similar patch last October and was spotted with the flag again on his hoodie sleeve during his Jets' loss in London in the wake of the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah, which has a stronghold in south Beirut, Lebanon's capital city. The coach was, however, fired for the team's underperformance, falling to 2-3 through its first five games.
Saleh, 45, reportedly told FOX Sports' Jay Glazer that he was "blindsided" by Jets owner Woody Johnson's decision on Tuesday.
"Just talked to Robert Saleh who said was blindsided by Woody Johnson walking to his office and letting him go. Certainly disappointed he wasn’t going to be given the opportunity to get things going with what he said is a very good roster," Glazer wrote on his X account.
Saleh also reportedly decided to demote offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett's play-calling duties minutes before his own firing, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to SNY's Connor Hughes.
Saleh reportedly made the final decision to give play-calling duties to quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Todd Downing "roughly five minutes" before he met with Johnson.
"SOURCES: Former #Jets HC Robert Saleh was never going to fire offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. That was not happening. However he was going to demote his game day responsibilities this week. Saleh made decision to give play-calling to Todd Downing because of the continued issues on offense. He made that final decision Tuesday AM. Then, roughly five minutes later, he was called into Woody Johnson's office and fired," Hughes wrote on his X account Tuesday afternoon.
Johnson, who publicly confirmed reports of Saleh's termination in an official statement shared Tuesday morning, promoted defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich to interim head coach.
"Based off of Jeff Ulbrich's press conference, it sounds very much like he, too, is considering giving play calling to Downing. The Jets expressed concern with Hackett this offseason in their attempts to add Arthur Smith as a senior advisor. He would have been the lead offensive voice, however he took the #Steelers OC job instead," Hughes added.
Saleh went 20-36 during his tenure as the Jets' head coach. 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 four-time NFL MVP Aaron 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 Vikings on Sunday and Denver Broncos in Week 4. Hackett, who Rodgers publicly defended from scrutiny after a failed one-year head coaching tenure with the Denver Broncos, had previously worked as the quarterback's offensive coordinator during their shared tenure with the Green Bay Packers.