We thought Robert Saleh might talk his way out of town earlier this season. And we now again wonder if he is in a precarious spot, albeit a more traditional one.
There is a good argument the Jets turned out to be what they should have been. A 7-10 finish would have sounded about right if presented in August. And the fast start raised expectations to an unrealistic level before everything regressed to the mean. Especially with all the quarterbacking issues.
That is all well and good. But the Jets were 7-4 and headed to the playoffs. And then they lost their last six games to to crash out of contention and extend the NFL’s longest postseason drought. Collapses like that tend to get people fired. So the floor is yours, Woody Johnson.
The Jets may like what Saleh has done in two years as head coach. They may be convinced he and general manager Joe Douglas have built a roster that is a quarterback away from contending for the Super Bowl. And they may actually believe Zach Wilson can still be that guy. But still. Six straight losses. Seven of eight down the stretch. No touchdowns in the final three weeks.
You can make offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur the sacrificial lamb. But is that enough? And if Saleh balks at firing his close friend, does Johnson reconsider everything? Jim Harbaugh is very much ready to mingle, remember. The next few days will be interesting.
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James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com
