Jets owner Woody Johnson denied an NFL Network report that he had a “very heated conversation” with Robert Saleh.
The NFL owners meeting is being held in Orlando this week, where the controversy is said to have broken out.
“All of this nonsense about a heated argument between Coach Saleh and me at a league meeting is completely false. This is yet another irresponsible report by NFL Network. Please ignore.” Johnson posted on Thursday to.
The story began circulating Wednesday after NFL Network host Colleen Wolf revealed the alleged exchange on her show “Around the NFL.”
“According to a very reliable source in the ownership board, there was a very heated conversation between Woody and Robert Saleh that got a little awkward,” Wolf said. “What were they arguing about?”
She said it happened at a party for an owners meeting Tuesday night.
“Hey, who knows? Anything could have happened,” Wolf continued.
“Perhaps there were disagreements about the doneness of the steak. But I doubt it.”
She clarified, “I wouldn’t say it was an argument. Just a heated argument…What were they discussing?”
Saleh is in his fourth season as the Jets’ head coach.
The Jets have an 18-33 record during his tenure, but last year’s 7-10 season was sort of undone after Aaron Rodgers ruptured his Achilles tendon on the team’s fourth snap from scrimmage. It was considered a “mulligan” season.
“My decision is to keep them,” Johnson told Saleh newspaper in December before the end of the season. “I think we made some very positive moves. The team culture is much better. We’re better on defense. We need some pieces on offense.”
