The New York Jets have fired head coach Robert Saleh following a 2-3 start to his fourth season.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will be the interim head coach for the remainder of the season, according to a statement released by team owner Woody Johnson.
"This morning, I informed Robert Saleh that he will no longer serve as head coach of the Jets," Johnson said.
"I thanked him for his hard work these past three-and-a-half years and wished him and his family well moving forward.
"This was not an easy decision, but we are not where we should be given our expectations, and I believe now is the best time for us to move in a different direction."
The Jets are coming off a 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday in London. The Jets return to action on Monday against the AFC East rival Buffalo Bills (3-2) in New Jersey.
The dismissal of Saleh marks the first time in Johnson's 25-year tenure that he has fired a coach during a season.
Despite having four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers at the helm, the Jets rank 27th in total offense (286.6 yards per game) and 25th in scoring (18.6).
Saleh, 45, compiled a 20-36 record with no playoff appearances in 56 games since taking over the Jets in 2021. New York last made the playoffs in the 2010 season, losing in the AFC Championship Game for the second straight year.
Saleh assumed the head coaching position of the Jets following four years as the defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers (2017-20).
He also had coaching stints in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars (linebackers, 2014-16), Seattle Seahawks (defensive quality control, 2011-13) and Houston Texans (various roles, 2005-10).
Ulbrich, 47, was hired by Saleh as the Jets' defensive coordinator in January 2021. He was the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons in 2020 after coaching their linebackers from 2015-19.
"He is a tough coach who has the respect of the coaches and the players on this team," Johnson said of Ulbrich.
"I believe he along with the coaches on this staff can get the most out of our talented team and attain the goals we established this offseason."
In the late game on Monday, Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs continued their unbeaten start to the season as they saw off the challenge of the New Orleans Saints.
Chasing a third successive NFL crown, the Chiefs won 26-13 to join the Minnesota Vikings as the only teams with a perfect 5-0 record, although they again struggled to convert territory into points.
Kareem Hunt, who ran for 102 yards, put the Chiefs ahead with a five-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
Three Harrison Butker field goals stretched the advantage in the second quarter to 16-7, interspersed with Rashid Shaheed catching a 43-yard pass from Derek Carr – more than half of the total first-half yards for the Saints quarterback.
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With many in the Kansas crowd cheering the city's baseball team, the Kansas City Royals, as they clinched a play-off win at the New York Yankees, the third quarter was scoreless.
Carr found Foster Moreau from six yards to cut the gap to three points early in the fourth quarter.
But that was as close as the Saints got as they dropped to 2-3 and lost Carr to an oblique injury late on.
Rookie Xavier Worthy ran in from three yards little more than two minutes later and Butker’s final field goal from 38 yards stretched the Chiefs’ advantage.
