Jets head coach Robert Saleh got an early Christmas present on Sunday when team owner Woody Johnson said that he would be back for a fourth season on the sideline in 2024.
The proclamation extended to General Manager Joe Douglas as well and the Jets celebrated by racing out to a 27-7 lead, blowing it and then rallying for a 30-28 win over the Commanders with a last-second field goal by Greg Zuerlein. The Jets aren’t taking the holiday off because they have a Thursday game against the Browns, so Saleh was at the podium for a press conference on Monday and said, via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, that Johnson has “never wavered in his support for us and the things we’re trying to get done.”
Saleh is 17-32 in his tenure with the team, including the 6-9 mark the team carries into Week 17. The hope was for a better mark with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback this year, but Rodgers’ torn Achilles became the latest obstacle to success for the team. On Monday, Saleh said he still believes that the team can reach the goals he set when he took the job in 2021.
“It’s been a grind,” Saleh said. “Everybody closes their eyes and imagines success right away, but we knew there was going to be a process. Obviously, we all felt great coming in this year with all the expectations and hype that’s around the football team — and that was awesome. It hasn’t gone the way we obviously wanted, but it doesn’t mean that the goal of winning championships is over. I still think we’ve got a really good football team. I’ve said it before: I think we’ve built a championship roster. There’s a lot of things that we’ve learned through adversity over the last three months since Aaron’s injury that will help us.”
One of the things the team likely learned is that they need a better Plan B behind an older quarterback who is now coming off a major injury. They’ll begin to address that and other needs after wrapping up the season against the Patriots in Week 18.
