A day after the Jets' dismissed Robert Saleh and promoted Jeff Ulbrich to interim head coach, QB Aaron Rodgers expressed gratitude to Saleh during his weekly appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show".
"I just want to say thank you to Robert, thanks for bringing me in and getting on board with that," Rodgers said.
When the news broke on the coaching change, Rodgers used a movie reference to describe the scene at 1 Jets Drive.
"I was in the training room doing rehab," he said. "It was one of those things like in John Wick where John Wick becomes 'excommunicado,' and then everybody at The Continental's phone starts vibrating."
Jets Chairman Woody Johnson made the move to Ulbrich, stating the 2-3 Jets were not where the team should be given their talent and expectations.
"Brick is going to add his own style to it," Rodgers "He does a great job with the defense. I've gone against him over the years in different coaching capacities. I believe that we were both playing at the same time too, so we have a lot of stories that overlap. I really enjoyed getting to know him last year especially in the offseason, spending time with him and he's got an incredible family as well. I expect a steady hand from him and great leadership. He's a former player, knows what it's like to be in the locker room. I think he's going to do a great job."
Under Ulbrich, the Jets defense is No. 1 in yds/play (4.26), No. 1 in pass yds/play (4.88), No. 2 in yds/g (255.8) and No. 2 in sacks/pass attempt (12.86%). But the Jets are riding a two-game losing streak as the offense struggled in defeats to the Broncos and the Vikings.
In their 23-17 loss to Minnesota Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Rodgers was intercepted three times including a pick-six by Vikings LB Andrew Van Ginkel. He had 57 dropbacks while the Jets averaged just 2.6 yards on their 14 rush attempts.
"The most important thing is there has to be some change even just the smallest change. We need as players to take accountability for what's happened," Rodgers said. "I think that's the thing that hits you too in the moment that if I played better on Sunday – this doesn't happen. And as somebody who takes a lot of pride in their performance, that was the main sentiment for me yesterday."
During this introductory news conference, Ulbrich said he would keep the coaching staff intact although all options are on the table as far as roles and responsibilities.
"There was going to be some things that needed to change regardless of what happened to Robert," Rodgers said. "We just haven't been playing consistent football on offense. And as we know, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. When you have a couple of games and obviously, I didn't play well in either of them, but we just don't play very efficiently, you have to adjust some things. It's a part of our game, change is part of our sport, and I know there are a lot of things that were swirling out there. But at this point, Brick and I have talked a couple of times and I'm on board with whatever he decides as far as the offense goes."
The Jets (2-3) will host the division-leading Bills (3-2) Monday night in a monster early-season matchup. With a win, the Green & White would move into a first place tie.
"I think it's a good perspective moment for all of us to reset mentally," Rodgers said. "A lot of stuff is right in front of us, starting with this week, a division opponent, a chance to get to 3-3 and be tied for the division lead. We have 12 games left, that's a long season."
Rodgers, completing 61% of his passes for 1,093 yards with 7 TDs and 4 INTs, is at the center of an offense than ranks No. 27 in yds/g (286.6) and No. 25 in scoring (18.6 pts/g).
"I have to play better – I will," he said. "We're getting behind Brick and there will be some changes with this and that's the direction we're going to go. But we're going to stand behind Brick and we have a lot to play for. Yesterday was about remembering how tough, how tough this game is.
"And today is about moving forward and embracing the changes that are coming, the changes that have already been made and sticking together. It's a time for us as players to lock arms with each other and find that belief inside of us because that's the only way we can inspire the belief in our fan base to get behind us in the right way."
