Robert Saleh was reportedly 'blindsided' by being fired as Jets head coach
Not many people expected Tuesday to be the day Robert Saleh was fired as head coach of the New York Jets, including the man himself.
Fox's Jay Glazer reported he spoke with Saleh after he was informed by Jets owner Woody Johnson he would be removed from his role, and the now-former coach was surprised by it.
"Just talked to Robert Saleh who said (he) 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 the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
NBC Sports also reported Saleh was escorted out of the team's facility by the team’s director of security after Saleh was let go.
Johnson said in a statement earlier Tuesday he informed Saleh of his decision during the morning and he thanked him for his "hard work" during his three-plus seasons in charge.
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"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," Johnson said.
Saleh ended up having his final news conference as head coach Monday, and he had optimism for the team. The Jets are currently 2-3 and coming off back-to-back losses in which Aaron Rodgers and the offense have struggled.
"The reality is what the standings look like now are going to be completely different at the end of the season. There's so much football to be played. There's so much, so many things that we can get better at and there's so many things that we can continue to build on, the things that we are doing well. So, I'm not panicked, nobody in the building is panicked," Saleh said.
Saleh finished his time with New York with a 20-36 record with no playoff appearances.
(This story was updated to include additional information.)