New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh is not making excuses why their 2023 season failed despite high expectations on the team. Sure, Aaron Rodgers’ “season-ending” injury at the start of the campaign was a massive blow, but at the end of the day, Saleh knows they could have done better responding to the adversity.
Saleh said as much while talking to reporters on Monday, admitting that he and the coaching staff certainly could have done more in order to prepare and guide the team to life without Rodgers.
Rodgers tore his Achilles in the very first drive of Week 1, and right there and then, the New York faithful felt their season was over even before it really started.
Saleh admitted that it’s really hard to handle Rodgers’ injury after they spent their offseason preparing to have him their QB1. Nonetheless, the veteran head coach understands that it’s their job to solve such problems, which they didn’t really do a great job at.
The Jets fell short of making the postseason once again, tallying a 6-9 record through Week 16.
Despite their shortcomings, though, Robert Saleh promised that he and his New York Jets coaching staff will learn and improve from it in 2024, when they hopefully have Aaron Rodgers fully healthy as well.
“When you have a Hall of Fame quarterback, you’re going to build it around his strengths, period. That’s a very common thing throughout the league. It’s not just a Jets thing. That’s leaguewide,” Saleh explained, via ESPN.
“Could we have done things better? I’m talking about myself and the coaching staff, with regards to, ‘All right, this is our worst-case scenario, now what?’ Absolutely, and it’s something that we will make sure that we do a heck of a lot better with in 2024.”
Of course, considering that the Jets have the longest playoff drought in North American sports, it’s only right for Jets fans to doubt Saleh’s words until he and his staff prove that they can transform the franchise to title contenders.
Until they do so, all eyes will be on them, and each and every move they make will be put under the microscope. While team owner Woody Johnson is staying patient with him, the same can’t be said about the fan base.
Aaron Rodgers’ Promise to New York Jets, Robert Saleh
For what it’s worth, it’s not only Robert Saleh who is promising a better 2024 to New York Jets fans. Even Aaron Rodgers himself told fans that things will be different next season.
During his recent appearance in the Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers asked the Jets supporters to stay patient on the team as they attempt to break their postseason slump and establish themselves as real contenders soon.
“I’m asking you [Jets fans], stick with us. Believe in us. Start manifesting positive things, not thinking about what could go wrong in 2024. Just trust. … It will be a different conversation [next year],” Rodgers said.
It’s now up to Rodgers and Saleh to deliver and live up to their promise. Hopes are high that they’ll be able to do it, though anything can happen in the NFL.
For now, New York can only wait and pray for the best.
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