The Jets fell to 5-9 on the season with a 30-0 defeat at Miami on Sunday and saw their slim playoff chances evaporate, ensuring 2023 would be the franchise's eighth straight losing season and 13th straight without the playoffs.
Robert Saleh, whose head coaching record with New York now stands at 16-32 with 17 defeats coming by double digits, said concerns about his job security do not enter his mind.
“Just coaching trying to beat Washington,” Saleh said when asked if he feels like he is coaching for his job the last three weeks of the season.
“Two types of coaches,” he continued. “Those who have been fired and those who are about to get fired, my man. We coach in the moment. We coach to win a football game.”
Saleh added that owner Woody Johnson has “been great” during their daily conversations about the team and game planning. And the head coach believes the locker room is still behind him and they do “a great job playing for one another.”
“That’s first and foremost, you always play for the man next to you,” Saleh said. “But from there, I think this team is still bought-in, I think this team still plays for one another, I think this team still loves one another.
“I’ll speak for everyone and [say] that we are frustrated that we haven’t been able to string together wins, but I do appreciate the way we go out and fight. Just gotta find a way to be successful.”
After Sunday’s defeat some of that frustration came out in comments made by wide receiver Garrett Wilson about his usage in the offense and comments from wide receiver Allen Lazard who said he felt the Jets had been “out-schemed” and “out-efforted” by the Dolphins. The head coach didn’t dispute Lazard’s assessment.
“Yeah, they’re warranted,” Saleh said about those comments. “Obviously we didn’t coach it well enough. We didn’t execute it well enough. And all the way across the board wasn’t good enough in all three facets.
"Any time you lose 30-0, throw a dart at the dartboard and you can pick a reason. But at the end of the day, starting with me all the way down, we’ve all gotta be better.”