The New York Jets have shocked fans and supporters after the team sacked its head coach, Robert Saleh. The decision came a day after the club owner, Woody Johnson, met with Aaron Rodgers, who plays the quarterback role for the team.
Johnson revealed to the pressmen on Tuesday that he engaged with the quarterback in a meeting on Monday before the sacking that ousted Saleh.
He also stated clearly that Rodgers had nothing to do with his decision to fire the head coach, while he emphasized that the decision was taken solely by him.
Rodgers was formerly slated to feature on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday, but it has been postponed to Wednesday while he has yet to make any statement regarding the sack.
The relationship between the now-fired coach and Aaron Rodgers has been a subject of discussion among viewers throughout the season, especially because of some incidents that happened between them, including the rejection of Saleh’s hug by Rodgers during their win against the New England Patriots.
The head coach said the rejection by the quarterback was to focus on the match. Rodgers in defense also claimed that he was not aware that the coach wanted to hug him.
“Part of the things that we’ve been talking about is to just get the defense a two-score lead,” Saleh told reporters at the time. “And it was a two-score lead, so I guess he just wanted to see something on defense. He just reminded me that we got a two-score lead.
In a way to dissuade attention from the issue between him and the coach, Rodgers mentioned on McAfee’s show that he is in a good relationship with Saleh.
“He’s not a big hugger, usually. So, I didn’t know he was going for the hug. He likes to do the two-hand chest push as well. But he talks a lot about two-score leads. So I kind of just gave him a push and said ‘two-score lead.’ That’s what happened.”
“Rob and I have a great relationship,” Rodgers said during an appearance. “We have since day one when I got here. We have text message conversations, threads that we’re in, conversations about a number of different topics outside of football. We have a good friendship.”
It was also reported that the coach was escorted out of the team’s facility by security after he was fired. Saleh also had a not-too-good time, with the team recording a maximum of seven victories in a single season.
The Jets are on a 2-3 record after suffering a 23-17 defeat against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday in London. The team is also one of the most penalized in the league this season.