"This is one of the most talented teams that has ever been assembled by the New York Jets," Johnson said on Tuesday's conference call with reporters. "I wanted to give this team the most opportunity to win this season. I feel that we had to go in a different direction and that's why I did that today. The change we made, I made, I believe will bring new energy and positivity that will lead to more wins starting now."
The belief that this is one of the most talented teams in franchise history, and that this is a team that should be performing better than its 2-3 record, is largely centered on Rodgers's presumed status as one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL. The Jets have had a championship-level defense in place for the past few seasons.
No matter what the motivation for the firing actually was, though-perhaps Saleh was planning to move on from Rodgers's hand-picked offensive coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett-the decision was either directly or indirectly influenced by the Jets quarterback.
Team owner Woody Johnson's version of events is that Johnson chatted with Aaron Rodgers on the eve of Saleh's axing, but that the 40-year-old was not made aware of the move at the time, nor did he request it himself.
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