It seems like an eternity ago that Robert Saleh was part of the euphoric Jets tour group that flew to Malibu to convince Aaron Rodgers that the final years of his career should be those of the New York Jet.

Rodgers was excited about playing for ‘Rob’.

But his Achilles tendon did not allow him to play more than four games for ‘Rob’ in 2023.

Five games and four plays proved to be enough for him.

If Woody Johnson and General Manager Joe Douglas had come to Rodgers to inform him they wanted to fire ‘Rob’, Rodgers could have saved ‘Rob’.

Because the Jets moved heaven and earth for Rodgers, he has enjoyed the same cachet as Tom Brady all these years, and Peyton Manning all those years. Like Broadway Joe Namath did all those years as Number 12.

Randall Cobb? Let’s make him a Jet. Allen Lazard? Let’s make him a Jet. Nathaniel Hackett is the OC? How did you know I would be in favor of that?

Aaron Rodgers did not fire Robert Saleh.

But you’d be naive if you didn’t think his fingerprints are all over here.

Rodgers came here to win his second Super Bowl and the Jets’ first since Jan. 12, 1969, building a lasting legacy in New York.

He’s looked and undoubtedly felt like a battered 40-year-old quarterback over the past two weeks, and now more than ever it’s up to him to win big in this 2-3 Win Now season.

Johnson was abroad as U.S. ambassador to Britain when brother Christopher hired Saleh to replace Adam Gase. But it was Woody who, with three games left in the 2023 season, announced that Saleh and GM Joe Douglas would get a mulligan and return in 2024.

“My decision is to keep them,” Woody Johnson told The Post’s Brian Costello. “I think we have made some very positive steps. The culture of the team is a lot better. The defense is better. The offense needs some pieces.”

I believe this was the right move at the time and this was Aaron Rodgers on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’:

“I believe in the leadership we have here.”

If Rodgers had uttered these words to Woody Johnson before Bloody Tuesday, “Rob” would still be the head coach of the 20-36 Jets.

But DC Jeff Ulbrich, who commands a room and has head coaching capabilities, is now the Jets’ head coach.

Douglas, in his limited sessions with the media, has defended Saleh at every turn, the culture he has built and their simpatico working relationship.

Everyone saw Saleh try to hug Rodgers after the Jets took a two-score lead against the Patriots and Rodgers pushed him away and fired at him.

Everyone heard Saleh characterize Rodgers’ cancellation of the mandatory mini-camp for that trip to Egypt as an “unexcused absence.”

Everyone heard Saleh and Rodgers discussing the weapon that is the future Hall of Fame quarterback in the first round of voting.

When I asked Saleh last week about his relationship with Rodgers, the only thing he could say publicly was: “It’s fantastic. I love him.”

Rodgers in London said all he could say publicly: “We’re really good friends. We enjoy each other. We spend time almost every day, I’m in his office talking about things, about the energy of the team, the focus of the team, what we need to get done, how I can help him, how he can help me out .

“So we have a great relationship.”

Of course, just because you really like him as a friend doesn’t mean you really like him as your head coach.

Saleh is a good man, everyone likes him. But he wasn’t the CEO the Jets thought they were hiring. It was laughable to oblige the owner by suddenly offering his expertise in the offensive meetings.

Saleh will emerge as the fiery defensive coordinator he used to be with the 49ers. He and Ulbrich know defense. In his defense, he never really had a chance with Zach Wilson, the second overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft, as his quarterback. On the other hand, he failed to develop him. On the other hand, offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett was the pull to bring in Rodgers.

Woody Johnson’s statement on Bloody Tuesday: “We’re not where we should get our hopes up.”

What if it was 3-2?

The Jets are one game behind the Bills in the division. Josh Allen returns to the scene of the Achilles crime Monday night. “Robben” will not do that.

When Woody Johnson broke the news to Rodgers that he was considering firing ‘Rob’, here’s the bottom line:

He could have told him RELAX. And he didn’t.