Jets guard John Simpson had flashbacks last Tuesday when he heard the news that the team had waived Robert Saleh.
Simpson was with the Raiders in 2021, a team that lost head coach Jon Gruden after the first five games of that season.
Gruden was not fired, but resigned after leaked emails contained racist, misogynistic and anti-gay language.
“That was the first thing I thought,” Simpson said later in the week. “It just happened out of nowhere. Change is never fun, but in the end you have to keep going.”
At this point, the Raiders were 3-2 and special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia was replaced. Bisaccia was the interim manager and led Las Vegas to the playoffs with a 7-5 record.
They are the only team in the Super Bowl era to make the playoffs after a mid-season coaching change.
The last team to do it before them was the 1961 Oilers.
Now the Jets are trying to compete against those Raiders.
The Jets are 2-3 and still have a chance at the playoffs under interim coach Jeff Ulbrich, but history is against them when it comes to mid-season coaching changes.
There have been 22 mid-season coaching changes over the past 10 years, with the Raiders being the only team in the playoffs. We are not comparing apples-to-apples results for all coaching changes.
Many occur late in the season, when teams have already been eliminated or effectively eliminated from playoff contention. Some of them occurred with one or two games left in the season.
Like the Jets' change, there are six instances where it happened less than six games into the season.
- The Panthers went 1-4 in 2022, fired Matt Rhule and finished the season 7-10 under interim coach Steve Wilkes.
- The 2021 Raiders went 10-7 under Bisaccia after Gruden was fired after going 3-2.
- The Falcons went 0-5 in 2020 under interim coach Raheem Morris, fired Dan Quinn, and finished 4-12.
- The Texans fired coach Bill O'Brien after going 0-4 in 2020 and finished 4-12 under interim coach Romeo Crennel.
- The Dolphins fired Joe Philbin after going 1-3 in 2015, then finished the season 6-10 under interim coach Dan Campbell.
- Washington fired Jay Gruden after going 0-5 in 2019, but the team finished 3-13 under interim coach Bill Callahan.
There are other examples of interim coaches taking over mid-season with some success. Gregg Williams went 5-3 with the Browns in 2018 after Hue Jackson was fired.
Antonio Pierce replaced Josh McDaniels last year and led the Raiders to a 5-4 record.
However, that is usually not the secret to success.
Jets defensive tackle Solomon Thomas was also on that 2021 Raiders team.
“This was because of Rich Bisaccia and the work he did with us. He believed in us,” Thomas said. “He set the standard for the group to come together and the players to take over the team and that's what ended up happening. We became a player-led team and we came together. Instead of playing football alone. We found a way to play team soccer and make it all the way. It was a tough transition, but we made it work, and that's what we're doing here.”
Simpson said he thinks there are similarities between the 2021 Raiders and these Jets.
“I think it's important that all the players come together and that coaches like Coach Bisaccia act like the glue and keep everyone aligned,” Simpson said. “I feel like it’s similar here, Coach. [Ulbrich] It's real. He will tell you how it is and love you back. That's kind of what you want. He played in this league. He's been in this league. I'm sure it will get better. They seem similar when compared. ”
Thomas said the players now have no choice but to move on.
“The hard part is that Saleh has been a great coach for us,” Thomas said. “He's a great guy and someone we love and respect. He gave us his all. We all love Coach Saleh, so that's the hard part. He's someone we love and respect. I'm grateful for the opportunity he gave me and everything he gave to this team. It's the only way to move on. That's the only way you can look at the past. We can't dwell on it. We have to get on the back. [Ulbrich]. we love [Ulbrich]. That's what we're doing now. ”
