A narrative has started to circulate in the NFL that everyone who leaves the New York Jets seems to get better. Sam Darnold and Leonard Williams winning a Super Bowl and Aaron Rodgers making the playoffs last year did not help curb that belief.

 

The Jets have a chance to shut down that narrative in Week 1 when they face the Tennessee Titans. New York will face their former head coach, Robert Saleh, who is now the head coach of the Titans.

 

Saleh’s tenure with the Jets ended five games into his fourth season. That firing came with storylines that have followed the team to this day.

Saleh led the Jets to a 2-3 record in 2024 before his dismissal. Woody Johnson decided he had seen enough of poor discipline and offensive performance and showed Saleh the door.

 

This breakup was anything but clean. Fans and the ownership may have been on board with the firing, but one group was not.

 

Reportedly, players in the locker room — many of whom are now with Saleh in Tennessee — were unhappy about the dismissal of their coach. The Jets’ record reflected that, as they won two more games the rest of the 2024 season. The roster has turned over quite a bit in the past two years, but players from Saleh’s tenure remain.

 

 

Apparently, the former Jets head coach wasn’t as miffed as his players by his firing. Zack Rosenblatt reported that after their respective terminations, Saleh and former General Manager Joe Douglas met up to celebrate. Two men, arguably most responsible for the team’s failure, celebrated sinking the ship they captained.

 

Now the Jets have a chance to get revenge and look to leave Saleh lost at the helm.

How does one stop a narrative that whenever somebody leaves, they do better? One way is to beat the ever-loving brakes off them.

 

This split won’t be won over vacation pictures put on stories or telling mutual friends how much better off they are now; it will be won on the field.

 

The Jets can’t take away Aaron Rodgers’ AFC North title, and they can’t de-glove Darnold or Leonard Williams. They can, however, immediately take the wind out of Robert Saleh’s new sails.

 

A win for the Jets this week would be massive. Fans spent last season and the offseason debating whether Aaron Glenn is the guy to lead this team. He can’t answer that in one week, but he can show that he’s better equipped for the job than his predecessor.

 

If Glenn can out-coach Saleh, New York will not only be 1-0 in the standings; they will get a much-needed symbolic win in the Glenn era.

 

The Jets are looking to build a new culture, but an old one still lingers. The only thing Tennessee should be toasting to after this week is a humbling loss at the hands of the Jets.

 

To take Breece Hall‘s next step of achieving the playoffs, the Jets need to step over Saleh.