Aaron Rodgers believes Robert Saleh would still have a job if he had started the season in better shape for the New York Jets.
Saleh was abruptly fired as Jets head coach on Tuesday after a 2-3 start to the season, with his team being defeated by the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday in London. Rodgers was 29 of 54 for 244 yards, two touchdown passes and three interceptions.
Rodgers, 40, spoke out on Pat McAfee’s show on Wednesday, strongly denying that he had called for Saleh’s firing.
A day later, the Jets quarterback admitted that if he had started the season in better shape, Saleh would still be the team’s coach.
“If I play better, this won’t happen,” Rodgers said. “When you change something in attack, it’s a mirror held up to all of us who have played. When something like this happens, it’s a reset for everyone.”
Aaron Rodgers has admitted his poor form may have cost Robert Saleh his job
Saleh was fired as head coach of the New York Jets on Tuesday after a 2-3 start to the season
“We all feel terrible about the opportunity we had, which we squandered, which led to Robert being fired and Jeff (Ulbrich) being promoted.
‘If I play better, this won’t happen. If we play better offensively, this won’t happen. It puts us in the spotlight and now it’s up to us to do it.
‘We have to be accountable to each other. We need to raise the level of our play to the level we set during training camp.”
Ulbrich, Saleh’s interim replacement and New York’s defensive coordinator, has stripped Nathaniel Hackett of his play-calling duties, he announced Thursday.
In Hackett’s place, quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Todd Downing will take full charge of the offense, starting with the Buffalo Bills on Monday night.
Hackett and Rodgers had previously worked together in Green Bay when the decorated quarterback won his third- and fourth-season MVP awards with the Packers.
But Rodgers has backed Downing to come in and make a difference.
“I knew something was going to change after they let Robert go,” Rodgers said. “I had conversations with Brick (Ulbrich) and I told him I would support him whatever he decided.”
Hackett continues to work with the Jets despite the change.
“It speaks volumes about the character that he has and that he wants to stay, be here for me, be here for Todd,” Rodgers said. “I love Nathaniel, he’s one of my dearest friends in the league.”
Rodgers joined the Jets last year but played just four times under Saleh before rupturing his Achilles tendon in his debut – against Monday’s opponents the Bills.