New York Jets star quarterback Aaron Rodgers gets what he wants.
At least that's how it looks from the outside.
The Jets on Tuesday decided to fire head coach Robert Saleh following the team's sluggish 2-3 start. It was an unprecedented move by Jets owner Woody Johnson, who never terminated a coach in the middle of the season during his 25 years of owning the franchise.
Plenty of details about Saleh's dismal emerged in the wake of the news, including Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reporting that Saleh put serious consideration into firing offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett before being let go.
Now, why is that piece of information a bad look not only for the Jets, but Aaron Rodgers? It makes it look like the Jets decided to keep Hackett and fire Saleh just to appease their 40-year-old signal-caller.
Rodgers and Hackett's relationship is well-documented with the two working together for three seasons with the Green Bay Packers prior to their time with the Jets. Rodgers won two out of his four MVP awards with Hackett as his offensive coordinator.
They tried to recreate that success with a reunion in New York, but it hasn't gone as planned. The Jets with Rodgers under center this season have produced just 18.6 points per game -- eighth-worst in the NFL -- and Rodgers has thrown just seven touchdown passes compared to four interceptions. His 61% completion percentage is the second-worst of his career as a full-time starter.
The offensive struggles would have made it warranted for the Jets to part ways with Hackett. But it feels like that wouldn't happen under Rodgers' watch.
Rodgers maybe was informed about Saleh's plan to try to get rid of Hackett and intervened, forcing Johnson to then turn his attention to the head coach with New York underperforming.
It seems like the Jets will do anything to make Rodgers happy after dealing with a terrible quarterback situation for years. But this current quarterback situation has its downside, too.
