Jets owner calls report on argument with Saleh ‘absolutely false’،
New York Jets owner Woody Johnson took to social media Thursday to refute an NFL Network host's claim that he and coach Robert Saleh had a “very heated conversation” earlier this week during from the NFL's annual league meeting in Orlando, Florida.
“All this nonsense about a heated argument between Coach Saleh and I at the championship meeting is absolutely false,” Johnson said. said the. “This is another irresponsible report from NFL Network. Please disregard it.”
It's unusual for Johnson, 76, to respond in this way, but he visibly felt compelled after a comment from NFL Network's Colleen Wolfe gained traction Wednesday night.
On the “Around the NFL” podcast, Wolfe said he heard about the alleged Johnson-Saleh dispute from a “very reliable source.” Initially, she said it happened at the NFL cocktail party Monday night at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, which hosted the NFL league meetings. Later in the podcast, she said it was Sunday night, not Monday. She provided no further details except to say it had become “a little awkward.”
In a statement released Thursday, Wolfe apologized to the Jets “for the unnecessary distraction.”
“Regarding my comments regarding the Jets on the @AroundTheNFL podcast: no, I was not at the annual meeting and yes, I was informed of the exchange between head coach Robert Saleh and Woody Johnson by a no one present. Others on site Sunday evening. I have since contacted and described the interaction differently. My intention was not to break the news, I leave that to the initiated. My deepest apologies to the organization of the Jets for the unnecessary distraction during such a crucial part of their offseason,” she said in the statement, which was posted on.
The Johnson-Saleh relationship has been under scrutiny since the end of the season – a disappointing 7-10 campaign for the Jets. Tension around the team intensified in early February when Johnson, speaking to reporters at the NFL Honors in Las Vegas, put everyone in the organization on alert by saying he expected a big improvement in 2024.
Johnson said Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas “saw me as angry as I could be about what was happening. … We all have these talents, and we have to deploy them correctly. So, I think they all got, 'The message. This is it. It's time to go. We have to produce this year.'” On Monday morning, Saleh spoke to reporters for the first time since the end of the season.
Asked about Johnson's pointed comments in February, Saleh told reporters: “Woody provides a lot of good ideas, he really does.” Whatever the tone, the important thing is the message, and he delivered a lot really. thoughtful, good messages that helped us progress, especially during this offseason.
“It will help us during the season. So his words are always welcome. He is the owner of the football team and his frustrations are shared with everyone.
The Jets have gone 13 straight seasons without making the playoffs, the longest drought among North America's four major sports leagues. They started last season with Super Bowl aspirations, but everything fell apart when quarterback Aaron Rodgers tore his left Achilles tendon on the fourth play of the season.
In Orlando, Johnson said he was “pretty impressed” with the team's offseason.
“I like to win games, like a lot of other owners,” he said. “Losing games is not why we are there. We are here to win games, both the players and the fans. So we want to win games and we are trying to build a team. I think we J I've made very good progress in putting together a team to achieve this.”
