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I have no idea what happened.
I didn’t witness it. I was there, but walking around talking to a lot of different people, not standing around monitoring Woody and Robert at the party at the NFL Owners Meeting on Monday in Orlando (at the JW Marriott pictured above). The only thing I noticed when I walked by the Jets group at the part was they were in a tight circle talking. About what, I have no idea, and it was none of my business.
NFL Network Colleen Wolfe said on the “Around the NFL” podcast: “I will say, from a very reliable source, at the NFL owner’s meeting, there was a very heated conversation between Woody (Johnson) and Robert Saleh to the point that is was a little bit awkward. What were they arguing about? At the party last night. I’m just saying. Who knows?”
Woody Johnson took to Twitter yesterday to shoot down Wolfe’s report: “”All this nonsense about a heated argument between Coach Saleh and me at the league meeting is absolutely false,” Johnson wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “It is yet another irresponsible report from NFL Network. Please disregard.”
Wolfe apologized on Thursday:
“Regarding my comments surrounding the Jets on the @AroundTheNFL podcast: no, I was not at the Annual Meeting and yes, I was told of an exchange between head coach Robert Saleh & Woody Johnson by someone in attendance. Others on-site Sunday night have since reached out and described the interaction differently. My intent wasn’t to break news, I leave that to the insiders. My sincerest apologies to the Jets organization for the unnecessary distraction during such a crucial part of their offseason.”
Was Wolfe forced to apologize by her bosses? Who knows, but her apology doesn’t mean her source didn’t see what the source claimed to see at the NFL Owner’s Meeting.
And who were the witnesses who countered her report, and who do they work for?
Connor Hughes, who has become the dean of the Jets’ beat, wrote, “Robert Saleh’s been grilled after gut-wrenching losses on the podium with fastball after fastball these last three years. Never once has he lost his cool. He receives justified criticism for a lot, but he always keeps composure publicly. You guys really think he’s gonna blow up.”
Even though Hughes is a rising star, some might consider his defense of Saleh a little flimsy.
How often have you seen the Jets coach blow up on officials on game day, going apoplectic? It happens a lot.
So to surmise he’s not a guy who loses his cool, just because he doesn’t do it in press conferences, is a suspect argument.
Some would argue he blames officials more than his players or coaches, but some would argue that is unfair.
I have been doing this for a while, and I can assure you we don’t know these people based on press conferences. That is a small sample size.
Did a heated discussion happen? I have no idea. I didn’t see it. The other stuff is “he-said, she-said stuff” and since there is no video or audio of what happened, nobody can prove anything after the fact.
March 29, 2024
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