Aaron Rodgers is back on the Pat McAfee Show making news. This time it’s not about his darkness retreats or medical advice. It’s because his head coach Robert Saleh, surprisingly, was fired just five weeks into the 2024 NFL season.
It was curious timing for a 2-3 New York Jets team whose offense failed to match the impact of its defense. Rodgers has had a decidedly rough start to his second season in green and white. His average target distance, touchdown rate and passer rating are all career lows. His 6.0 yards per attempt is lower than the 6.2 number Zach Wilson put forward in relief of the injured quarterback in 2023.
This all led to rumors the outspoken quarterback may have had something to do with Saleh’s early ousting. On Wednesday, Rodgers denied any culpability in his former head coach’s newfound unemployment.
"I resent any of those accusations, because they are patently false. It's interesting, the amount of power that people think I have, which I don't."
– Aaron Rodgers on Robert Saleh's firing
(via @PatMcAfeeShow) pic.twitter.com/5tBeMmdut3
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) October 9, 2024
Rodgers also went on to say he’d accept whomever winds up calling plays for his stale offense going forward — whether that’s current offensive coordinator (and former Green Bay Packers coordinator in two of Rodgers’ MVP seasons) Nathaniel Hackett or passing game coordinator Todd Downing. Either way, it’s clear the dropback, short-target, get-the-ball-out-before-pressure-comes game plan that marked New York’s first five games is set to be tweaked if not dismantled.
"We just haven't been playing consistent football on offense..
At this point Ulbrich & I have talked a couple times and I'm on board with whatever he decides..
I wanna do what's best for the team & we're throwing our support behind Coach Ulbrich"@AaronRodgers12 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/yIrcUhHdWs
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 9, 2024
There’s still plenty to fix about the Jets beyond a head coach that was unable to turn the chicken crap of below-average quarterbacks into chicken salad. Rodgers’ athleticism has taken an expected downswing now that he’s 40 years old and coming off a torn Achilles. Now he’s stuck playing with a hurt ankle after getting folded up like an accordion in Week 5’s London loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
That leaves a massive challenge for Hackett, Downing and interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich. If they fail and get pushed out, it may not officially be Rodgers’s fault — but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t the catalyst behind it.
