After the news broke that the Jets had made a coaching change, the Green & White's leadership council, a select group of veteran players that includes captain LB C.J. Mosley, RT Morgan Moses and TE Tyler Conklin, met with CEO and Chairman Woody Johnson and Vice Chairman Christopher Johnson, who discussed Johnson's decision that Jeff Ulbrich would take Robert Saleh's place.
"I was in [Tuesday] morning for little treatment, and I saw the news break on my phone," Mosley said. "I think, like everybody else, [I was] pretty shocked and not expected at all."
Moses said: "Obviously finding out the news and just kind of rallying around the guys, man, it was a different type of day. But I think with the platform that we were given [Tuesday], with the space to be able to have mental capacity and really just talk to one another as teammates, was the best decision that we can make as a team."
Moses was referring to the players-only meeting that took place after the council met with Johnson and before Ulrbich addressed the team for the first time as head coach.
"We had individual meetings, we had a team meeting and a player-led meeting before just to kind of get everybody's thoughts because we wanted to be open about the situation because it was just so raw at that time," said Mosley, who has not played since Week 1 due to a toe injury. "Just wanted to make sure that we kind of took the time to really just reflect on why that happened, to let guys really express their emotions."
"It was just an opportunity if anybody wants to say anything as far as how they felt as a player, how they felt about the decision, what they were feeling. It was just a moment where guys would be vulnerable and really say what they felt and what they still wanted to accomplish."
After listening to his teammates Tuesday, Mosley said the team's main message was accountability.
"Whether it's good, bad or in between, that's what this is always about," he said. "I think this was definitely a wake-up call, but at the end of the day, we all have to take some type of accountability on how we cannot let this stop us for achieving our goal, but also make sure to not let something like this happen again."
Conklin and his teammates don't think the team is lacking accountability, but it's something that will remain in focus after the team started the season 2-3 with aspirations to make a playoff run.
"I do think it's something that it makes us all look inward when something like that happens because it falls on all of us," he said. "Yeah, the big news is Coach Saleh got fired, but it's really because of a lack of production we've had and the underachieving we've done so far throughout this season. That's where a lot of this accountability comes in."
"A lot of time you have players-only meeting in Week 10 and things are really bad and you're kind of hitting the panic button. With everything that happened, it being Week 5 and having the whole season in front of us, it was more so us getting together as a group, coming together and being on the same page. Locking arms and acknowledging we have everything we want still in front of us, acknowledging and being accountable that we need to perform better and be better."
Mosley, Moses and Conklin each expressed their appreciation for Saleh, who was hired in 2021, and each recognize the team has to quickly turn the page to their next game, which comes on Monday night against the first-place Bills.
"I think the first time that comes to mind is you have a heavy heart," Conklin said. "A lot of people have talked about it's a production business and as a group we haven't been producing. Coach Saleh ended up having to take the fall for that and it just affects not just him, but his family and so many people around him, so you have a heavy heart for him and what him and his family are going through.
"Then it's just time isn't waiting for anybody. We have to get back on track and we have a game on Monday night. It's time to get ready to play a game again."
