National Football League

New York Jets next coach odds: Detroit's Johnson favored; Smart, Day in contention?

Updated Oct. 10, 2024 1:54 a.m. ET

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One jet left the hangar on Tuesday.

The New York Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh on Tuesday, making them the first NFL franchise to make a major move on the sideline this season.

Five weeks into the year, the Jets, who many picked to be Super Bowl contenders in 2024, sit at an underwhelming 2-3.

They own wins over Tennessee and New England, and their losses came at the hands of San Francisco, Denver and Minnesota. 

In Week 4, New York's offense suffered mightily in a 10-9 home loss to the Broncos, and that trend continued in Week 5, when Aaron Rodgers threw three picks in a 23-17 loss to the Vikings.

Now, Rodgers & Co. will receive orders from a new head coach, in the form of defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, who will now serve as the interim head coach.

But will Ulbrich earn the full-time gig over the next however many weeks?

Let's take a look at the odds for the Jets' next head coach at DraftKings Sportsbook as of Oct. 9.

NEW YORK JETS NEXT HEAD COACH:

Ben Johnson (Lions OC): +300 (bet $10 to win $40 total)
Mike Vrabel (Former Titans HC): +400 (bet $10 to win $50 total)
Jeff Ulbrich (Jets interim HC): +500 (bet $10 to win $60 total)
Bobby Slowik (Texans OC): +500 (bet $10 to win $60 total)
Kliff Kingsbury (Commanders OC): +1000 (bet $10 to win $110 total)
Aaron Glenn (Lions DC): +1000 (bet $10 to win $110 total)
Klint Kubiak (Saints OC): +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Brian Flores (Vikings DC): +1200 (bet $10 to win $130 total)
Kirby Smart (Georgia HC): +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total)
Ryan Day (Ohio State HC): +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total)

Detroit's Ben Johnson is favored to eventually take the Jets job, after he was arguably the hottest name on the coaching market this past offseason, alongside Jim Harbaugh, who landed with the Los Angeles Chargers. 

In 2023, the Lions' offense, under Johnson, was in the top five in the NFL, averaging 394.8 yards per game (third) and 27.1 points per game (fifth). Detroit rode that offense to an NFC title game berth last season, falling 34-31 to the Niners in that game.

This season, the 3-1 Lions are averaging 397 yards per game (third) and 26 points per game (seventh).

Why did the New York Jets fire Robert Saleh so abruptly?

As for Mike Vrabel, who now sits second on the oddsboard after opening in third, he served as head coach for the Titans for six seasons, from 2018-2023. 

In Tennessee, he put together four consecutive winning seasons before falling below .500 in his final two years.

He guided the Titans to the AFC title game in 2019.

Then, somewhere near the middle of the oddsboard are two of college football's best coaches in Georgia's Kirby Smart and Ohio State's Ryan Day.

Neither have ever coached in the NFL, but have been dominant in the amateur ranks. In his nine years overseeing the Bulldogs program, Smart has two national titles to his name, as well as a 98-17 overall record and three SEC Coach of the Year trophies.

Day is 61-8 in over six years at the helm of the Buckeyes program. He has two Big Ten titles under his belt, and was named Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2019.

Did Aaron Rodgers have anything to do with Robert Saleh being fired by the Jets?

FOX Sports NFL reporter Ben Arthur outlined his seven favorite candidates to take over as the Jets' new head coach, and had this to say about Johnson.

"The Jets have an underachieving offense, which is the No. 1 thing they must fix," Arthur wrote. "With Nathaniel Hackett calling plays, the Jets offense ranks 25th in points and 27th in yards so far this season. Aaron Rodgers is coming off his first three-interception game since November 2022. It makes plenty of sense for the Jets' next coach to be offensive-minded, and there's arguably no better candidate than Johnson. … A hot head coaching candidate in recent years, Johnson has elected to stay in Detroit despite heavy interest. The Jets' gig is the kind of opportunity that could finally get him into the head coach ranks."

Arthur also posited another name that will likely enter the conversation, even though it's nowhere near the top of the oddsboard. That name is Bill Belichick.

He coached the Jets from … well, he never really coached them. But he was supposed to.

"The 72-year-old Belichick burned the Jets at the turn of the century, announcing his resignation one day after being named coach," Arthur wrote. "But this is a new day. Belichick would be a splashy move considering his résumé as a legendary coach, though he would need to get the offensive staff right. The head coach-general manager delineation must also be clearly defined. Belichick served as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator of the Jets from 1997-99, finding plenty of success under Bill Parcells. Belichick's Jets defenses never ranked below ninth in scoring."

At DraftKings, Belichick is at +2000 to win the job.

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