Bill Belichick criticized the New York Jets’ decision to fire coach Robert Saleh on Monday, describing the move as a “little early” and taking a dig at team owner Woody Johnson.
The comments add to a 25-year rift between the longtime New England Patriots coach and the rival Jets, whom he coached for one day in 1999 before infamously resigning on a napkin before he could be introduced to the media.
While appearing on the “Monday Night Football” alternate broadcast with Peyton and Eli Manning, Belichick said he thought Saleh “brought in a culture, a level of toughness and competitiveness.” When Peyton Manning said he thought Saleh’s firing seemed “quite early” after five games, Belichick expressed a lack of surprise.
“That’s kind of what it’s been there at the Jets, you know?” Belichick, the six-time Super Bowl champion, said. “They’ve barely won over 30 percent (of their games) in the last 10 years. The owner being the owner, just ready, fire, aim.”
Belichick’s rivalry with the Jets — “I’m not a big Jets fan, in case you don’t know that,” he said Monday — dates back to his resignation in January 2000.
Belichick, who was the Jets’ assistant head coach and defensive coordinator under Bill Parcells from 1997 to 1999, said in an ESPN “30 for 30” documentary in 2018 the ownership transition to Johnson, who purchased the team in 2000, was part of the reason.
“Essentially, the problem I had with the whole arrangement was when all this transpired, there was no owner,” Belichick said. “Mr. (Leon) Hess passed away after the (’98) season. There were two potential owners — (Woody) Johnson and (James) Dolan.
“I hadn’t spoken with either one, but I had issues with both. … The whole ownership configuration was a major factor in my decision.”
Belichick instead went from the Jets to New England, where he not only won six Super Bowls, but went 39-12 against New York, including playoffs. His 39 wins are the most by a coach against a single team in the Super Bowl era.
Earlier on Monday, on SiriusXM’s “Let’s Go!,” Belichick called Saleh’s firing “premature.”
“Just seemed like a little early to pull the trigger on that one to me,” he said. “But not out of character for the owner. Woody’s always been kind of hard to predict what he’s gonna do. Some of it just is hard to make sense out of, but I think Saleh did a good job there.
“He brought a strong culture to the defense and obviously not quite there yet, but a long way to go in the season, seemed like a premature move.”
Saleh, who was fired Tuesday after the Jets’ loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London, went 20-36 in just over three seasons from 2021 to 2024, failing to make the playoffs at any point during his tenure. The Jets have gone through seven head coaches since 2000, with none lasting longer than six seasons, though this was the first time in Johnson’s 25 years as owner the Jets fired a coach in-season.
With defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich taking over as interim coach, New York lost to the Buffalo Bills on Monday 23-20 to fall to 2-4.
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