FLORHAM PARK, NJ – At what turned out to be his final news conference as head coach of the New York Jets, Robert Saleh told reporters Monday morning, “I’m not panicking. Nobody in the building is panicking.”

He was wrong.

Twenty-four hours later, owner Woody Johnson entered the building and informed Saleh that he was being fired after a 2–3 start to the season – the first head coaching in-season loss in Johnson’s 25 years of ownership.

Obvious question: Will this move – stunning and unprecedented – change anything?

Will replacing a defensive-minded coach with a defensive-minded interim (defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich) reinvigorate a team whose biggest failure is its offense?

Embattled offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett was not fired along with Saleh, according to a team source, but his status remains up in the air. It’s possible he could be stripped of his play-calling responsibilities, with the job going to passing game coordinator Todd Downing. That will be Ulbrich’s decision. Hackett is obviously best friends with quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who wields significant influence within the organization.

The decision to fire Saleh was Johnson’s, a team source said, and the reason is that he wanted to try something to save the season before it got away from them, as so many others have done. They haven’t made the playoffs in thirteen years, the longest active drought in the NFL.

“This was not an easy decision, but we are not yet where our expectations should be, and I believe this is the best time for us to move in a different direction,” Johnson said in a statement.

Johnson went on to say that Ulbrich and “the coaches on this staff can get the most out of our talented team and achieve the goals we set this offseason.”

The 77-year-old owner hopes for a bit of Las Vegas-like luck.

In 2021, the Las Vegas Raiders became the only team in the Super Bowl era to make the playoffs with a different head coach than in the season opener, according to Elias Sports. Special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia replaced Jon Gruden after Week 5, but it is important to note that Gruden resigned from his position after reports said the emails he wrote contained racist, misogynistic and anti-gay language.

Before that, the last time a team changed coaches and made the playoffs was the 1961 Houston Oilers.

In short, Johnson is trying to make history.

Everyone knew at the start of the season what was at stake: win now or else. It was widely expected that Saleh, who finished with a 20-36 record, would get a one-year stint — one to maximize the quickly closing window with his 40-year-old quarterback.

Essentially, Johnson reinforced his sense of urgency in February, when he told reporters he was furious about last season’s 7-10 finish. He added: “This is it. This is the time to go. We have to produce this year.”

Then the Jets went out and acquired more win-now players like wide receiver Mike Williams, tackle Tyron Smith and edge rusher Haason Reddick, who declined to sign and is still awaiting a new contract. They could add another big name if they can pull off the trade for disgruntled Raiders star Davante Adams, who happens to be good friends with Rodgers.

The Jets are said to have one of the most talented rosters in the NFL. Johnson was thinking about Super Bowl. Then came the Week 4 loss to the Denver Broncos, an ugly game that shook up the organization and dropped the Jets to 2-2.

The day after the 10-9 loss, Johnson shared his concerns with Saleh, a team source said, creating a sense of tension in the building. In retrospect, Saleh was coaching for his job in London on Sunday, where the Jets lost 23-17 to the Minnesota Vikings after falling behind 17-0.

Watching his team lose to their former quarterback (Sam Darnold) in London, where Johnson served as US ambassador to the United Kingdom for the Trump administration, proved too much for the owner to bear. So he stepped out of character and made the coaching change.

Ulbrich, 47, is an upbeat former player who, with help from Saleh, has turned the Jets into one of the better defensive teams over the past two-plus seasons. Defense is not the problem; as usual, it’s the offense, which seems dysfunctional even with Rodgers running the show. This is why Ulbrich is likely considering a demotion for Hackett.

After five games, the production is nearly identical to the first five games of last season, when Zach Wilson – not Rodgers – was the quarterback. They have the same number of points scored (93) and almost the same yards per game (a fractional jump from 284 to 287).

The common denominator is Hackett. Under him, the offense has started predictably and slowly, prone to breakdowns in pass protection and lacking creativity in the running game. Breece Hall, one of the most talented running backs in the league, is averaging just 3.0 yards per rush.

Rodgers, coming off a rare three-interception game, appears out of sync with his receivers and hesitates to throw the ball downfield. Known for his expertise at the line of scrimmage, he sometimes has difficulty diagnosing blitzes, resulting in unblocked rushers and a barrage of body attacks.

Ulbrich has 12 games this season to get Rodgers on track, turn the offense into a functional unit, galvanize the team and live up to the owner’s huge expectations. If he can do all that, it will be a season for the ages.