Jets Chairman Woody Johnson, speaking to reporters after parting ways with Robert Saleh and naming Jeff Ulbrich interim head coach Tuesday morning, believes the decision will spark the Jets (2-3).
"This is one of the most-talented teams that has ever been assembled by the New York Jets," Johnson said. "I wanted to give this team the most opportunity to win this this season. I feel that we had to go in a different direction and that's why I did that today. The change that we made today, that I made, I believe will bring new energy and positivity that will lead to more wins starting now.
"I've been doing this for 25 years now. This is probably the best team I've had. I just felt that the best way to go forward with a new direction and taking Jeff Ulbrich and making him the interim head coach, I thought that would get the most out of this team and give us the best chance to do what we all want to, which is going to the playoffs."
Johson said he spoke with general manager Joe Douglas about the decision on Saleh, who had a 20-36 record since he was hired in 2021, but it was Johnson's decision alone.
"When you make a decision like this, it's not an easy decision," Johnson said. "This required a lot of soul searching. Looking back at my experience in sports, and particularly with the New York Jets for 25 years, I took it very seriously. That's why I made a decision. I thought and I think that it's going to make us more competitive and it's going to help us reach the goals that the team and I want to accomplish.
"As we have this new leadership, I think that's going to bring out the best in these players. I really do. I feel confident that that's going to happen. This is a new day for the team and it's a new day that's welcome. As the team realizes what opportunity this is for them, I think they're going to go to a level that we haven't seen in a while."
The move is the first midseason head coaching change since Johnson purchased the team in 2000. Ulbrich, who served as the team's defensive coordinator since 2021 and has produced a top-five unit each of the last two seasons, will take over as the interim head coach. Ulbrich, who played with the 49ers from 2000-09, has experience as a head coach and he served in that role at the Senior Bowl last January.
"I've seen him coach, I know the relationship he has with the players and they respect him," Johnson said. "They trust him. I've seen it at halftime and I've seen it in practice. When he talks, they listen to him in a way that probably represents the fact that he did play the sport as linebacker for 10 years, which is pretty unique. He brings that knowledge and the respect and the knowledge to the game in a way that I think that will be very good for the players going forward."
When asked about the impact of the coaching change on an offense that's averaged 251 yards and 13 points per game over the last two weeks, Johnson expressed his belief in Ulbrich's transition from focusing on only the defense to the entire team.
"I think one of the reasons that I decided to make a coaching change at the highest level here is exactly that we need to find ways to win," he said. "We're not going to find those ways by doing the same thing over and over and over.
"Those changes that we have to make on offense, we're going to make them on offense and we're going to make it on defense. We're going to try to get better. This is a new opportunity for all of us."
