Robert Saleh wouldn’t want to be the odds-on favorite in this category for the New York Jets
New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh is tied for the eighth-best Vegas odds to win the Coach of the Year award at +1800.
But he’s also the runaway favorite for a different, more ominous distinction.
BetOnline recently unveiled their odds for the first coach to get fired in 2024-25. Leading the pack was Saleh at +500. The Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy is next at +600, followed by the Saints’ Dennis Allen and the Bears’ Matt Eberflus (+700). Ironically, Eberflus also has the best odds for Coach of the Year at +900.
It’s easy to understand why Saleh is the odds-on favorite in this category. The Jets have virtually everything at stake in 2024. Aaron Rodgers is not under contract after this season and could easily retire. His dead cap hit in 2025 is $49 million. Tyron Smith, Mike Williams, and Morgan Moses are on one-year deals. Michael Carter II, D.J. Reed, and Tyler Conklin are free agents following the season. If this season goes wrong as 2023 did, Saleh will likely be the first to go, with Joe Douglas right behind him.
As it is, Saleh is lucky to have kept his job. The Jets’ offensive meltdown following Rodgers’ injury exposed the team’s lack of a cohesive plan from the outset. There’s no reason why a team with Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall should have posted a historically poor offense. Woody Johnson chose to give Saleh and Douglas a mulligan in 2024, but it’s thin.
Would Johnson ever get rid of Saleh during the season? I still find that very unlikely. There’s usually some coach fired before the season ends, which is why I wouldn’t bet on Saleh being the first one.
But if the Jets don’t make the playoffs and win at least one game, I fully expect a new regime to be in place for 2025.
