Doesn’t it just seem like when a head coach gets fired in the National Football League and is replaced by an interim head coach that the team does well in their first game out?
We have that situation tonight, when the New York Jets host the Buffalo Bills in the wake of Robert Saleh being shown the door by the team that wears green and plays their home games at MetLife Stadium. His replacement, who takes over with the interim designation, is Jeff Ulbrich, who served on Saleh’s staff as defensive coordinator since the dismissed coach was hired in 2021.
Early in this regular season there was talk of a Super Bowl involving the Bills and New Orleans Saints. And why not. Buffalo had won their three season opening contest and were coming off a pair of blowout victories over the Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars by scores of 31-10 and 47-10 respectively.
The Saints opened their 2024 campaign with wins over the Carlina Panthers and at the Dallas Cowboys by margins of 47-10 and 44-19.
Before we got out of September, the lofty aspirations of these two squads were leveled. The Saints lost to the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons to close out the month and have lost their first two games in October. After their quick 3-0 start, the Bills went down in a lopsided loss to the Baltimore Ravens, 35-10, and were defeated last Sunday at Houston by the Texans. They are on the road for a third straight week tonight and are now looking to avoid lining up a third straight loss following their season opening three wins.
The Jets came into the 2024 campaign with hyped up expectations now that they expected a healthy Aaron Rodger running their offense. New York had acquired the long-time Green Bay Packers quarterback last year in an attempt to have him lead this offense to success while confident they had one of the best defenses in the league.
Rodgers’ 2023 season didn’t make it through even a series of downs, injured and lost for the year while many at MetLife Stadium fans were still looking for their seats.
Rodgers’ second season in New York began with a road loss to the talented San Francisco 49ers and wins over the Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots gave hope that New York was ready to compete in the AFC for a title. But, a fourth week loss to the Denver Broncos while the Jets were limited to nine points threw shade on the Jets and their prospects. A defeat last Sunday morning in London, where Rodgers quite frankly looked like a 40-year old quarterback that was struggling during the loss to the Minnesota Vikings, was enough for New York management to determine something had to be done.
The brain thrust of the Jets, which is a bit of an oxymoron, figured the problem was not their aging quarterback but rather their head coach. Good-bye Saleh, hello interim Ulbrich, and tonight we get to see how this all plays out.
And, by the way, that thought that an interim NFL head coach does well in his first game is actually true. Since 2010, 23 teams have fired their coach during the season and in the first game for the interim coach, his record is 14-9 both straight-up and against the point spread.
Tonight, the Bills look to snap a two-game losing streak, but they catch the Jets, looking to catch them in the AFC East Division standings, on just the wrong night.
Qoxhi Picks: New York Jets (+1) over Buffalo Bills