Boomer Esiason thinks he has gotten to the heart of the apparent friction between Aaron Rodgers and Jets coach Robert Saleh.
Rodgers and Saleh offered different takes during postgame comments about whether the quarterback’s infamously complex pre-snap cadence is causing confusion on the offense after the Jets failed to score a touchdown Sunday in a stunning 10-9 home loss to the Broncos at a rain-soaked MetLife Stadium.
Speaking on his WFAN morning drive program with Gregg Giannotti, Esiason read the body language of how the Jets quarterback doesn’t interact with the head coach on the sidelines.
“I try to watch to see if I see any interactions on the sideline or anything — nothing,” Esiason said.
“Nothing. I see a guy walking right past that other guy. I can’t imagine that.”
Esiason recalled what it was like to have issues with his head coach back in his playing days.
“Now, I remember those days, because I had those days, with two coaches in particular, and it was because I didn’t trust the guy,” Esiason said.
“I didn’t like the guy. I didn’t know what he was doing and it pissed me off. If you read my body language back in those days, with those teams that I was on, you could tell that I was pissed off. And when I see Aaron Rodgers on the sideline and I see him after the game in the postgame press conference.”
Esiason said that he was “speculating” based on personal experience, but continued to view Rodgers’ postgame remarks as problematic.
“Yesterday’s postgame press conference — there is a major issue there,” Esiason said.
“Both will deny it. I guarantee it. But there is an issue there. It’s because you have this 40-year-old Hall of Fame quarterback to-be, dealing with a coach that I think he doesn’t respect.”
At the postgame press conference on Sunday, Saleh said, “We’ve got to figure it out, whether or not we’re good enough or ready to handle all the cadence. Cadence had not been an issue all [training] camp. Felt like our operation had been operating pretty good. Obviously, today it took a major step back.”
Rodgers disagreed with the coach’s remarks.
“That’s one way to do it,” he said. “The other way is to hold them accountable.”
The Jets (2-2) will travel to London this week and will face the undefeated Vikings (4-0), who are led by Gang Green’s ex-quarterback, Sam Darnold.
