Jets’ Robert Saleh third NFL coach fired following loss in London

Five weeks into the 2024 season, the New York Jets have fired coach Robert Saleh, Jets owner Woody Johnson announced Tuesday. The announcement follows the Jets’ 23-17 loss Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London to the still undefeated Minnesota Vikings.

The Vikings led throughout, held New York to 254 yards of offense and collected three turnovers, including ending a potential game-winning drive in the final minute by intercepting quarterback Aaron Rodgers for a third time. The loss was the Jets’ (2-3) second in as many weeks — and second loss in London in the past four seasons.

This was the third game the Jets have played in London, and second under Saleh. New York won its first appearance in 2015, when the Jets picked up a 27-14 win over the Dolphins at Wembley Stadium in Todd Bowles’ first season leading the team. The Jets went on to finish 10-6 in 2015, their most recent winning season. Bowles was fired by the Jets after a loss to the New England Patriots in 2018 and is now in his third year as Tampa Bay’s head coach.

New York played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first time in 2021, in Saleh’s first seson, but never led in a 27-20 loss to the Falcons that was part of an eventual four-win season.

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— New York Jets (@nyjets) October 8, 2024

Per ESPN Research, Saleh is now the third NFL coach who has been fired following a loss in London in the past decade. Former Raiders coach Dennis Allen was fired after a loss to the Dolphins at Wembley in 2014. Then in 2015, former Miami coach Joe Philbin was fired following a loss to the Jets at Wembley.

Raiders owner Mark Davis didn’t directly speak to coach Allen on the long flight back from London to Oakland 10 years ago. But he was loudly upset about the 38-14 loss to the Dolphins, which dropped the Raiders to 0-4 on the season and 8-28 under Allen. Davis reminded coaches and players how he had put them up at an actual castle — at Pennyhill Park — for a whole week to get ready for the game.

When the plane landed and Allen’s family got off and headed home from the airport, Davis fired Allen. He named the late Tony Sparano as interim coach, four games into the careers of rookies Khalil Mack and Derek Carr.

The next season, the Dolphins returned to Wembley, but trailed throughout in the loss to the Jets in a third consecutive defeat that left them 1-3 entering a bye week. Miami fired Philbin, who was 24-28 in four seasons with the Dolphins, the following day, and named Dan Campbell — now in his fourth season coaching the Lions — the interim head coach.

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New York Jets fire Robert Saleh: Why they made the move now

The Jets’ loss to the Vikings was the first of three games scheduled to be played this season in London, which has hosted regular season games since 2007.

The Jacksonville Jaguars, who have played 11 games in London since 2013, are set to play back-to-back contests in London in the next two weeks. Jacksonville has won six games in London, including two last season against the Falcons in Week 4 and the Bills in Week 5, which started a string of five consecutive wins for the Jaguars.

The Jaguars (1-4) enter Sunday’s meeting with the Bears (3-2) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium looking to build on their their 37-34 Week 5 win over the Colts, which was Jacksonville’s first of the season. Jacksonville was the only remaining winless team in the NFL in 2024 prior to the win over Indianapolis. The Jaguars are then set to play the Patriots (1-4) at Wembley seven days later.

This will be the third appearance for the Bears in London. Chicago won its first London contest in 2011, but lost its most recent in 2019. The Patriots travel to Wembley for the third time, but first in more than a decade, having won their first two games at the stadium in 2009 and 2012.

(Photo: Mike Stobe / Getty Images)