Photo: Getty Images
Former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh was spotted publicly for the first time since his firing last week.
Saleh, 45, said he was "living the dream" when approached by a photographer while leaving a Whole Foods store in New Jersey and confirmed that he hopes to coach again, but declined to answer whether his choice to wear the Lebanese flag during his final game had a role in his firing.
Saleh, 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.
Last week, Saleh reportedly told FOX Sports' Jay Glazer that he was "blindsided" by Jets owner Woody Johnson's decision to fire him.
"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 and give them to quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Todd Downing minutes before his own firing, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to SNY's Connor Hughes, a move that was later carried out by interim Jeff Ulbrich. Saleh reportedly made the final decision "roughly five minutes" before meeting with Johnson.
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 six of the Jets' games in 2024, but struggled in losses to the Vikings on Sunday and Denver Broncos in Week 4, as well as throwing an interception on the final drive of a Monday Night Football loss to the Bills in New York's first game since Saleh's firing. 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.