The best bet seems to be that Aaron Rodgers isn’t a member of the New York Jets come the 2025 NFL season. After promising Super Bowls in his introductory press conference, he missed Year 1 entirely before leading the team to a 4-12 record this season with the final game of the year remaining.
Now, rumors suggest that owner and Madden aficionado Woody Johnson has turned sour on Rodgers. As a result, a breakup between the two parties feels inevitable, and one potential future head coach of the team is making sure to throw Rodgers under the bus as well.
Former (and Future?) Jets Head Coach Calls Out Aaron Rodgers
Rex Ryan had an eight-year stint in the NFL as a head coach but he is best known today for his colorful commentary on ESPN. Never one to mince words, Ryan has always called it as he sees it. When it comes to the team with which he’s in line to interview for its next head coaching position, he puts the blame squarely on one person’s shoulders.
Moreover, his answer was clear about the quarterback’s future as a Jet: “No, I don’t think he is.” When others argued about letting a future Hall of Famer like Rodgers walk away from the franchise, Ryan’s stance remained unmoved.
Despite his high pedigree, Rodgers has struggled this season, posting a grade of 71.2 (C-) through 16 weeks, the 25th-highest grade this season and his second-lowest mark since PFN’s QB+ metric‘s data starts in 2019 (worst was in 2022: 68.7, D+).
Will Aaron Rodgers be back with the Jets?
"No," Rex Ryan, who is interviewing for the Jets coaching vacancy.
"You can let a guy walk out the door when he's not committed to the team…you can't tell me that hasn't been the case." pic.twitter.com/QIGIPLwrff
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 5, 2025
“You can let a guy walk out the door when he’s not committed to the team. … You can’t tell me that hasn’t been the case.” And to support his argument, the former New York head coach brought out the receipts.
“I mean, this is a guy that wasn’t at mandatory minicamp. ‘Nuff said.” What Ryan is referring to is an incident that occurred way before the season began. During minicamp, reports came out that Rodgers wasn’t participating.
Even though many were ready to overlook it, the Jets claiming that the absence wasn’t excused raised some eyebrows, especially about the relationship between Rodgers and then-head coach Robert Saleh. Eventually, when the season appeared to be falling apart, Saleh was fired, with Jeff Ulbrich taking over as interim head coach.
Since then, the team has gone 1-6, ended its playoff hopes, and is now on the verge of ending its two-year experiment with Rodgers. And, in place of Ulbrich, they are looking for a new head coach, with Ryan coincidentally among the names in consideration.
He was, after all, the last Jets head coach to end his tenure with a near .500 record at 46-50. Since then, the four coaches have combined for a 54-105 record, near the worst mark in the league. Ryan might be paving the way for how he wants to run things in New York.
But with tensions at an all-time high between Rodgers and Johnson, it might also be a tactic to get in Johnson’s good graces before the big interview.