First Head Coaching Casualty Of The Season

[River Dog]

After Week 5, which has to be one of the earliest HC firings in recent history:

Jets fire coach Robert Saleh after 2-3 start, sources say

The New York Jets have fired coach Robert Saleh after starting the season 2-3, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich will be the interim head coach, a source told ESPN.

Saleh, who was hired by the Jets in 2021, had a 20-36 record as the team's head coach.

Saleh's firing marks the first time in owner Woody Johnson's 25-year tenure that he has fired a coach in the middle of the season. After last season, a 7-10 finish, Johnson acknowledged that he was livid with the outcome and raised the stakes for Saleh by demanding significant improvement.

Saleh becomes the third NFL coach to be fired after losing a game in London, according to ESPN Research. The Raiders fired coach Dennis Allen in 2014 the day after they lost 38-14 to the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium, while the Dolphins fired coach Joe Philbin in 2015 the day after they lost 27-14 to the Jets at Wembley. Saleh's firing comes two days after the Jets lost 23-17 to the Minnesota Vikings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Jets entered the 2024 season with high expectations, with quarterback Aaron Rodgers returning from an Achilles injury that had derailed his 2023 season after just four plays, but they have struggled on offense.

Quarterback instability marked Saleh's tenure as the Jets started six different quarterbacks in his four seasons: Zach Wilson (33 games), Mike White (7), Rodgers (6), Joe Flacco (5), Trevor Siemian (3) and Tim Boyle (2).

Saleh's tenure was marked by strong defense and poor offense, largely due to the quarterback instability. In his first season, they drafted Wilson No. 2 overall, but he struggled mightily and eventually was benched and replaced last season by Rodgers, who tore his Achilles on the fourth snap of the season.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/416 ... ources-say

[NorthHawk]

The Jets under Saleh had a great Defense. Until this year. He's a defensive coach but their Defense regressed and their Offense hasn't helped matters much.
With his overall record, it's not too surprising.

Who's next? Pederson in Jacksonville? Kevin Stefanski in Cleveland?

[River Dog]

A couple of things that were likely factors in Saleh's dismissal. In the Sunday morning game in London, Saleh sparked a controversy by wearing a shirt with a Lebanese flag during the game. About 10% of New York City is Jewish, making it the largest concentration of Jews outside of Israel and being that he was already skating on thin ice, might have been the straw that broke the camel's back. The last thing an owner wants is a controversy that's going to generate protests, etc. Bad decision by Saleh in forgetting about the three taboos you never talk about on a first date: Sex, religion, and politics.

The other thing I'm hearing is that he had lost the locker room, that there were a lot of players who didn't like him:

However, firing him (Saleh) mid-season without any warning is a strong statement.

It’s a statement that things have severely gone wrong between the two parties. While it’s too early for concrete reports to come out, internet sleuths believe that Saleh’s firing was a result of him losing the Jets locker room.

The primary evidence provided by netizens for this theory is an intriguing visual from the Jets’ 24-3 win over the Patriots last month. During a celebratory moment for Aaron Rodgers, the franchise’s star quarterback surprisingly pushed away his head coach’s attempt to hug him.

Not only did Rodgers push Saleh aside, but he also stared him off while walking away. Back then, many saw this as a pumped Aaron Rodgers losing control of himself. However, netizens now believe that the interaction of the duo reflected the rift between them.

The reason this rift theory seems more credible, however, appears to stem from what former Jets OT Mekhi Becton had to say about the sacking.

Moments after Saleh’s firing was announced, Mekhi posted a viral meme featuring a man in a black suit, with the caption reading: “I stopped by one of my biggest haters’ funeral today, just to make sure he was dead.”

https://thesportsrush.com/nfl-news-inte ... hs-firing/

[Aseahawkfan]

Robert Saleh is Lebanese. So that's why he wore the flag.

Jets owner is Woody Johnson, a Republican and a Trump supporter. Thus likely a very big supporter of Israel. Interesting to read on Woody Johnson. Now I see why he had little problem picking up Aaron Rodgers. At least he seems to keep mostly quiet about it.

Underperformance coupled with political beliefs not in line with owner likely main reason for firing.

[River Dog]

Robert Saleh is Lebanese. So that's why he wore the flag.

Jets owner is Woody Johnson, a Republican and a Trump supporter. Thus likely a very big supporter of Israel. Interesting to read on Woody Johnson. Now I see why he had little problem picking up Aaron Rodgers. At least he seems to keep mostly quiet about it.

Underperformance coupled with political beliefs not in line with owner likely main reason for firing.

The fact that Saleh is Lebanese is irrelevant. It was a very poor choice for him to show his political 'colors', so to speak, in lieu of his team's' colors and logo, which is what 95%+ of NFL head coaches wear on Game Day, especially considering the circumstances with what's going on in the Middle East. He brought on a controversy to the team that was completely unnecessary and avoidable. If that's why Johnson fired him, I don't have any problem with it whatsoever.

Admittedly this was a make-or-break season for Saleh, but the team's performance did not justify a firing. The Jets are 2-3 and a game out of first place in their division. They play the Bills next Monday night and will take over first place if they win. It's the first time in over 60 years that a coach with a .400 or better winning percentage has been fired in the first half of the season, and we're still 3 weeks until the halfway mark.

So really, there's only two possible reasons for the firing that make any sense: Expression of his political beliefs during a game or some type of locker room issue with the players. 

[Aseahawkfan]

The fact that Saleh is Lebanese is irrelevant. It was a very poor choice for him to show his political 'colors', so to speak, in lieu of his team's' colors and logo, which is what 95%+ of NFL head coaches wear on Game Day, especially considering the circumstances with what's going on in the Middle East. He brought on a controversy to the team that was completely unnecessary and avoidable. If that's why Johnson fired him, I don't have any problem with it whatsoever.

Admittedly this was a make-or-break season for Saleh, but the team's performance did not justify a firing. The Jets are 2-3 and a game out of first place in their division. They play the Bills next Monday night and will take over first place if they win. It's the first time in over 60 years that a coach with a .400 or better winning percentage has been fired in the first half of the season, and we're still 3 weeks until the halfway mark.

So really, there's only two possible reasons for the firing that make any sense: Expression of his political beliefs during a game or some type of locker room issue with the players. 

Saleh wore the Lebanese flag because he is Lebanese ancestry. That is not irrelevant. It explains why he wore the flag. I have no idea if he had done this before and it had been allowed or if he did this as a political statement out of the blue. Often times someone has been doing something a while and no one notices until something happens like being fired. For all we know Saleh wore the Lebanese flag prior to this and it's only now being noted after his firing.

We can also be real: underperformance is what opened the door to his firing. You don't fire a winning coach for something like this, so the primary driver of his removal is underperformance.

[River Dog]

Saleh wore the Lebanese flag because he is Lebanese ancestry. That is not irrelevant. It explains why he wore the flag. I have no idea if he had done this before and it had been allowed or if he did this as a political statement out of the blue. Often times someone has been doing something a while and no one notices until something happens like being fired. For all we know Saleh wore the Lebanese flag prior to this and it's only now being noted after his firing.

We can also be real: underperformance is what opened the door to his firing. You don't fire a winning coach for something like this, so the primary driver of his removal is underperformance.

After doing some research, I'll have to correct myself as I was in error. It turns out that Saleh wore the shirt/flag as part of the NFL's Heritage program:

Saleh was born in Michigan but is also of Lebanese descent. He was the first Muslim head coach in NFL history and is the fourth Arab-American head coach in history, joining Ed Khayat, Rich Kotite and Abe Gibron, all of whom are also of Lebanese descent. Both of Saleh's parents were born in Lebanon and emigrated to the United States ahead of his birth in 1979.

Saleh decided to wear the Lebanese flag on his arm during at least two NFL games as a nod to his heritage Saleh doesn't wear the flag every week, but he has worn the patch before. He did exactly that during a game last October. Some interpreted Saleh wearing the flag as a political statement. Fighting between Israel and Lebanon — in connection with the Israel-Palestine war — began weeks before Saleh wore the flag on his sleeve in 2023.

At the time, however, the NFL encouraged players and coaches to wear patches representing their heritage. Players added decals to the back of their helmets with their flags, while coaches added a patch to their team gear.

NFL executive vice president of club business, international and events Peter O'Reilly said the following regarding the initiative:.

https://www.sportingnews.com/ca/nfl/new ... 7e571fa29c

It would appear that the league had sanctioned such attire and Saleh was well right to wear it, so you can scratch that from the list of possible reasons he was fired so abruptly. But I still maintain that although he was in a make-or-break season, that the Jets 2-3 start was not the major reason he was fired. Something else has to have been at work.

[Aseahawkfan]

After doing some research, I'll have to correct myself as I was in error. It turns out that Saleh wore the shirt/flag as part of the NFL's Heritage program:

Saleh was born in Michigan but is also of Lebanese descent. He was the first Muslim head coach in NFL history and is the fourth Arab-American head coach in history, joining Ed Khayat, Rich Kotite and Abe Gibron, all of whom are also of Lebanese descent. Both of Saleh's parents were born in Lebanon and emigrated to the United States ahead of his birth in 1979.

Saleh decided to wear the Lebanese flag on his arm during at least two NFL games as a nod to his heritage Saleh doesn't wear the flag every week, but he has worn the patch before. He did exactly that during a game last October. Some interpreted Saleh wearing the flag as a political statement. Fighting between Israel and Lebanon — in connection with the Israel-Palestine war — began weeks before Saleh wore the flag on his sleeve in 2023.

At the time, however, the NFL encouraged players and coaches to wear patches representing their heritage. Players added decals to the back of their helmets with their flags, while coaches added a patch to their team gear.

NFL executive vice president of club business, international and events Peter O'Reilly said the following regarding the initiative:.

https://www.sportingnews.com/ca/nfl/new ... 7e571fa29c

It would appear that the league had sanctioned such attire and Saleh was well right to wear it, so you can scratch that from the list of possible reasons he was fired so abruptly. But I still maintain that although he was in a make-or-break season, that the Jets 2-3 start was not the major reason he was fired. Something else has to have been at work.

Never heard of Saleh being some kind of cowboy like Colin K. So this makes more sense.

So underperformance likely cause and loss of locker room possible cause of underperformance, though I never believe in the locker room stuff myself. In my mind, professional players have to perform to keep their jobs. Football is optional and you don't ever want to become known as a locker room cancer as that can get you out of the league regardless of how good you are like we've seen with Percy Harvin or similar types of players. You gotta perform as every game and every week is measured by performance not only by your team, but by other teams who might possibly give you one of the rare million dollar a year plus NFL jobs. So there is no incentive to be a slacker in the NFL or not perform because the coach has lost the locker room as some purport.

If the Jets aren't performing they either lack the talent or the coach can't scheme the talent to put them in position to win, especially the ability to make adjustments to stop opponents attacking your schemes.

[River Dog]

Never heard of Saleh being some kind of cowboy like Colin K. So this makes more sense.

So underperformance likely cause and loss of locker room possible cause of underperformance, though I never believe in the locker room stuff myself. In my mind, professional players have to perform to keep their jobs. Football is optional and you don't ever want to become known as a locker room cancer as that can get you out of the league regardless of how good you are like we've seen with Percy Harvin or similar types of players. You gotta perform as every game and every week is measured by performance not only by your team, but by other teams who might possibly give you one of the rare million dollar a year plus NFL jobs. So there is no incentive to be a slacker in the NFL or not perform because the coach has lost the locker room as some purport.

If the Jets aren't performing they either lack the talent or the coach can't scheme the talent to put them in position to win, especially the ability to make adjustments to stop opponents attacking your schemes.

I don't know why Saleh was fired, but I can assure you that although the team's performance might have made for a good excuse, that it wasn't the root cause. They were 2-3 and one game out of first place in their division, not 0-5 and a laughingstock. They lost their last two games by a total of 7 points. They were not embarrassed. Owners don't fire their HC's in the first half of the season unless there's something else at work, like there was with Jion Gruden.

And speaking of locker room issues costing coaches their jobs, that's the reason why Jim Mora lasted just one season with us, because he lost the locker room.

[Aseahawkfan]

I don't know why Saleh was fired, but I can assure you that although the team's performance might have made for a good excuse, that it wasn't the root cause. They were 2-3 and one game out of first place in their division, not 0-5 and a laughingstock. They lost their last two games by a total of 7 points. They were not embarrassed. Owners don't fire their HC's in the first half of the season unless there's something else at work, like there was with Jion Gruden.

And speaking of locker room issues costing coaches their jobs, that's the reason why Jim Mora lasted just one season with us, because he lost the locker room.

I don't believe that about Mora at all.

I think Paul Allen gave Tim Ruskell a shot to run the team. It was a disaster. He jettisoned Ruskell and his head coach Mora and brought in another high profile coach in Pete Carroll. This had been growing for some time as Ruskell used his power to force Holmgren out who despised Ruskell for losing Hutch costing him a major piece of his carefully constructed offense. When Allen decided to side with Ruskell and push Holmgren out, Ruskell was on a short leash and thus so was Mora. By the end of the season, Allen was done with Ruskell and thus done with Mora. He made his move and the rest is history.

The locker room had nothing to do with Mora being pushed out. Mora was hired by Ruskell and used as a pawn in a power struggle with Holmgren that Ruskell won. Ruskell victory was short lived and when Ruskell was pushed out, so was his pawn coach.

You were there Riverdog. You watched this stuff happen. How are you conflating Mora losing the locker room with his firing when you watched that BS power play by Ruskell against Holmgren play out? Mora was fired because the GM that hired him was no longer there to support him and the owner never wanted him to start with.

[River Dog]

I don't know why Saleh was fired, but I can assure you that although the team's performance might have made for a good excuse, that it wasn't the root cause. They were 2-3 and one game out of first place in their division, not 0-5 and a laughingstock. They lost their last two games by a total of 7 points. They were not embarrassed. Owners don't fire their HC's in the first half of the season unless there's something else at work, like there was with Jion Gruden.

And speaking of locker room issues costing coaches their jobs, that's the reason why Jim Mora lasted just one season with us, because he lost the locker room.

I don't believe that about Mora at all.

I think Paul Allen gave Tim Ruskell a shot to run the team. It was a disaster. He jettisoned Ruskell and his head coach Mora and brought in another high profile coach in Pete Carroll. This had been growing for some time as Ruskell used his power to force Holmgren out who despised Ruskell for losing Hutch costing him a major piece of his carefully constructed offense. When Allen decided to side with Ruskell and push Holmgren out, Ruskell was on a short leash and thus so was Mora. By the end of the season, Allen was done with Ruskell and thus done with Mora. He made his move and the rest is history.

The locker room had nothing to do with Mora being pushed out. Mora was hired by Ruskell and used as a pawn in a power struggle with Holmgren that Ruskell won. Ruskell victory was short lived and when Ruskell was pushed out, so was his pawn coach.

You were there Riverdog. You watched this stuff happen. How are you conflating Mora losing the locker room with his firing when you watched that BS power play by Ruskell against Holmgren play out? Mora was fired because the GM that hired him was no longer there to support him and the owner never wanted him to start with.

Believe what you want about Mora's firing. IMO he lost the locker room. You could see it on the field as the effort and enthusiasm wasn't there. The team had mailed it in. It was something we talked about in the old PI forum.

Neither of us, nor anyone outside the Jets' inner circle, know exactly why Saleh got axed. All I'm saying is that there had to have been something else besides the on-field performance. What happened Monday is nearly unprecedented. In the past 60 years, we've had hundreds of HC firings, and never in that period of time has a HC gotten fired less than halfway into the season and with a .400+ record. If the Jets win Monday, they'll be leading their division. Owners fire HC's in the middle of a season when all hope is lost, ie in December after they've been eliminated from the playoffs.

A locker room issue, a scandal we don't know about, a personality conflict with the owner, the franchise quarterback, there has to have been something. The entire football world was taken by surprise. Otherwise, why didn't he fire him at the end of last season? Changing coaches 1/4 into the regular season isn't a formula for success.

Here's something to think about:

It certainly didn’t help when Saleh unwittingly sparked a controversy after the Broncos loss as he tried to explain a rash of pre-snap penalties by wondering aloud if his players were “good enough or ready to handle all the cadence.” Quarterback Aaron Rodgers wasn’t thrilled when a reporter relayed to him Saleh’s message of an uncertain cadence future and predictably defended the Jets use of them, and suggested the team focus less on changing the way they do cadence, and more on holding players accountable for their mistakes.

In hindsight, it’s fitting that Saleh spent a good part of his final week as Jets coach dealing with the fallout, at one point explaining away the whole “cadence issue” as a “created” storyline, when of course it was it was a self-inflicted wound, created by his imprecise choice of words.

[Uppercut]

There we go! If Hawks pay a Defensive Egg tomorrow they can hire Saleh as DC

[River Dog]

There we go! If Hawks pay a Defensive Egg tomorrow they can hire Saleh as DC

Too many roosters in the same hen house. Besides Macdonald, Leslie Frazier, a defensive mind, is already in the fold as assistant HC.

[NorthHawk]

I thought that comment was sarcasm.
Saleh comes from the Carroll tree and that’s a lot different schematically from MacDonald and Wink Martindales defenses.

Edit: If he gets back into coaching as an assistant coach it would probably be with SF.

[River Dog]

I thought that comment was sarcasm.
Saleh comes from the Carroll tree and that’s a lot different schematically from MacDonald and Wink Martindales defenses.

Edit: If he gets back into coaching as an assistant coach it would probably be with SF.

It's been suggested in other circles, so I took the comment seriously.

Saleh has put together some pretty good defenses, so I doubt that he'll stay unemployed for long.

[River Dog]

Here's an interesting theory which seems to have some credibility as to why Saleh was suddenly and unexpectedly fired:

(CBS Sports' Jonathan) Jones was told by sources that it is possible Saleh would have fired (OC Nathanial) Hackett as soon as Tuesday if Saleh did not lose his own job. Saleh was likely going to give the offensive coordinator job to quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Todd Downing.

Hackett, of course, is good friends with Rodgers. That is why some are theorizing that Rodgers knew Saleh was about to fire Hackett and suggested (Owner Woody) Johnson fire Saleh instead.

For what it’s worth, one report claimed the relationship between Rodgers and Saleh had been in a good place. There certainly seemed to be some tension between the two after New York’s Week 4 loss, however.

Rodgers and Hackett worked together in Green Bay when Hackett was the offensive coordinator of the Packers from 2019-2021. That relationship helped Hackett get the job with the Jets. Rodgers passionately defended Hackett last year when Sean Payton took aim at the coach over Hackett’s disastrous 2022 season with the Denver Broncos.

To make matters more interesting, the Jets reportedly have no plans to fire Hackett despite the team’s offensive struggles.

Johnson insists Rodgers had nothing to do with Saleh being fired, but it would hardly be a surprise if the 40-year-old quarterback was consulted.

https://larrybrownsports.com/football/t ... ett/640396

I have my own personal opinion of the Lordly Aaron Rodgers, and I wouldn't put it past him to have been lobbying for Johnson to fire Saleh. It wouldn't be the first time Rodgers tried to get a head coach fired.

[NorthHawk]

On the Pat McAffee show, Rodgers said he was surprised by the firing.
Of course he wasn’t under oath or on a lie detector, but take it for what it’s worth.

The only offensive success Hackett has ever had in the NFL is when LaFleur in Green Bay called the plays.
He doesn’t seem to have done well as an OC and ply caller not to mention as a HC.

[River Dog]

On the Pat McAffee show, Rodgers said he was surprised by the firing.
Of course he wasn’t under oath or on a lie detector, but take it for what it’s worth.

The only offensive success Hackett has ever had in the NFL is when LaFleur in Green Bay called the plays.
He doesn’t seem to have done well as an OC and ply caller not to mention as a HC.

I wouldn't trust Aaron Rodgers any further than I can spit. Of course, he's going to say he was surprised. To say otherwise would be an admission of his complicity in the firing.

10-4 about Hackett. I think it's reasonable to assume that Saleh got fed up with him as the defense, Saleh's long suit, was playing well. The Jets are 2nd in the league in total yards allowed and 7th in points allowed, while the offense is the polar opposite: 27th in yards, 25th in points scored. With a healthy Rodgers, the expectations were that the offense would take off, but it hasn't happened. They can't fire Hackett because he's buddies with Lord Rodgers, and then there would be a huge locker room mess.

Johnson himself said that it wasn't the last two games that “It’s not just the last two games that has precipitated this decision. It’s a longer time frame. I’ve had a couple years to think about this. If you take him for his word, then the Jets performance on the field this season was not the reason why Saleh got fired.

The other thing here is that immediately after the firing, Saleh was escorted out of the building by security and not allowed to address the team. It sure sounds personal to me.

[Aseahawkfan]

Believe what you want about Mora's firing. IMO he lost the locker room. You could see it on the field as the effort and enthusiasm wasn't there. The team had mailed it in. It was something we talked about in the old PI forum.

I was on the PI forum as you already know. You talked about it, not sure anyone else agreed. We all know what happened as we all watched it play out.

I'll believe what I know happened, what we wall watched happen over the course of the end of the Holmgren Era. It had nothing to do with losing the locker room. Mora was never Paul Allen's choice and wasn't going to last when Ruskell was removed. I'm surprised that you who watched this happen now fall back to that stupid reason when you watched the entire sequence of events that preceded Mora being gone. Not even sure why you brought it up when that sequence of events wasn't anything like what happened with Saleh.

Mora was brought in to transition Holmgren out by Ruskell who won his power play against Holmgren. This was all very clear. The team was Holmgren's team, so Mora never had the locker room if that is even a legitimate reason for underperformance which I believe is some reason people like to use that means next to nothing.

As far as seeing it on the field, you really think an entire team of players just slacks off because of the coach losing the locker room? Guys getting paid millions whose job is on the line from performance just all slack off because they don't like the coach? That's a hard sell and extremely hard to prove.

[Aseahawkfan]

They didn't put Hackett in charge. Not sure what they're doing over there, but when you fire the head coach this early you're likely cooked for the season.

[NorthHawk]

Can’t blame them for not giving the HC job to Hackett.
From what i’ve heard it seems like he is being sidelined within their organization.

[River Dog]

They didn't put Hackett in charge. Not sure what they're doing over there, but when you fire the head coach this early you're likely cooked for the season.

Their problems are on offense. The rumor is that Saleh wanted to fire Hackett, but that Rodgers intervened and that the firing of Saleh has Rodgers fingerprints on it. I'm not sure how much truth there is to that scuttle butt. Even if it's not true, you don't reward an OC whose offense is ranked 27th in the league by promoting him to the HC position, especially one that did a huge faceplant in his previous HC job.

[NorthHawk]

It seems the seat under Pederson is getting hotter with their most recent loss and Lawrence not playing well at QB. Has the team lost faith in their HC?
Jacksonville might just be the next make a HC change, but I'm not sure if Khan is the type to make that kind of change mid season.

[River Dog]

It seems the seat under Pederson is getting hotter with their most recent loss and Lawrence not playing well at QB. Has the team lost faith in their HC?
Jacksonville might just be the next make a HC change, but I'm not sure if Khan is the type to make that kind of change mid season.

That one would make a lot more sense than the Jets firing Saleh. The Jags are 1-5 with Pederson himself calling for a 'cultural change.' Even Andre Cisco, one of the team's defensive leaders, commented about the team 'quitting.' There's lots of signs out there that Pederson has lost the team, and if that's true, there's no sense keeping him around any longer.

Oddly enough, if the Jags lose and fire Pederson the next week after their game across the pond vs. the Pats, he'll join a growing list of coaches fired after losing a game in London, which includes the Raiders Dennis Allen in 2014, Joe Philbin of the Dolphins in 2015, and Saleh this season.

Another coach that has to be feeling the heat is the Cowboy's Mike McCarthy. They just got walloped at home against the Lions, and we all know how impatient Jerry Jones is. If they lose in a similar fashion to the Niners this weekend, it wouldn't be a shock to see Jones pull the trigger.

[NorthHawk]

Jones is adamant that he won’t make a HC change during the year.
And although he seems to be impatient, he has a history of keeping coaches longer than expected like Jason Garrett for almost 10 years.

[NorthHawk]

Saints Dennis Allen is the next HC to be fired.
Poor record and we should have seen it coming.

[River Dog]

Saints Dennis Allen is the next HC to be fired.
Poor record and we should have seen it coming.

It's still just halfway through the regular season yet Allen is the 2nd head coach to have been fired so far. But at least it's a little more justified than the Jets firing Saleh. The Saints have lost 7 in a row after winning their first two and are 4 games out of first place. It used to be that a bunch of heads would roll on Black Monday, sometimes as many as 7 or 8, on the Monday following the conclusion of the regular season.

[NorthHawk]

Didn’t the Saints have a lousy record the last part of last year as well?

[River Dog]

Didn’t the Saints have a lousy record the last part of last year as well?

No, it was just the opposite. They won 4 of their last 5 games, finishing at 9-8 but missing the playoffs.