Fire Saleh? ESPN Says Jets Should Hire Mike Vrabel
Chaos is never far from the New York Jets, even in the quiet times of the offseason before the new league year begins.
From Geno Smith’s broken jaw to Aaron Rodgers’ darkness retreats and everything in between, New York does a great job of keeping the fanbase on its toes.
In ESPN’s bold offseason moves column, though, the Jets go down a path that would be pandemonium – even for them.
Oct 3, 2021; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel reacts to a call by an official against the New York Jets during overtime at MetLife Stadium.
Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
According to Aaron Schatz, New York should make the (admittedly far-fetched) move to fire head coach Robert Saleh and replace him with former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel.
“There are too many good head-coaching candidates on the market and too many last-chance coaches heading into the 2024 season,” Schatz wrote. “Why not just make the change now?”
However unlikely an offseason Saleh firing may be, it wouldn’t be without cause. The Jets are yet to have a winning season under Saleh, and while that’s largely attributed to poor quarterback play, Saleh isn’t without blame.
Reports of dysfunction, distrust, and scapegoating of his offense loomed large after the season, and if the administration wasn’t tied to the fate of Rodgers, there’s a good chance he would have already been fired. For all of Rodgers’ influence, the coaching staff hires and decisions on both sides of the ball fall under Saleh’s purview. New York hasn’t been good enough to confidently pencil in Saleh as the long-term answer.
“Losing Saleh would mean losing his defensive scheme, and that might hurt the Jets' defense that has been top six in DVOA for two straight seasons,” Schatz wrote. “But adding Vrabel should help both locker room management and game management. Vrabel might do a better job of managing Aaron Rodgers, and he's a much more analytically sound coach in games.”
Vrabel was expected to be hired quickly after he departed from Tennessee – said to be an issue related to organizational control – but was not one of the handful of coaches hired during this cycle.
A move this late would be fairly unprecedented without some schism between Saleh and ownership, but many would see it as an upgrade. If Vrabel earned a reputation during his Titans tenure, it was for getting the most out of mediocre rosters. That’s something Saleh probably can’t say, and could bite the Jets should this offseason not be a rousing success.
