Reid Kerr

And this NFL season is now officially underway.

You know my old motto, “It’s not really important until somebody gets fired.” That was always my approach to working in TV and radio, which indicates all the gaps on my resume.

“Sir, can you explain what happened between these two jobs, and these … several years of unaccounted-for time?”

“Yes, I blame supply chain issues.”

But anyway, the Jets have beaten the rush and the odds, and fired former head coach Robert Saleh.

To begin with, I freely acknowledge that someone has lost their job here, and conversation about that situation can be morbid. But hey, there are only 32 of those jobs, and they all pay much better than your average chapula technician. And every coach knows his career will end either when he retires or gets fired, and by the time you do the first thing, the second has probably already happened to you several times. So let’s not pretend this is an aberration, or that it’s not something you call for every Monday after a Cowboys loss since 1997.

The big question here is, was it a good move?

It’s definitely surprising. This kind of in-season change is usually done to keep things from getting even worse, and rarely for a team with options. But the Jets are playing Monday night for the division lead. And let’s face it, that’s not a good division, so the Jets still have a chance at a playoff spot.

This is the earliest an NFL team has fired their head coach during the season since the Texans fired Bill O’Brien back in 2020. Honestly, I only bring this up because I would like to see him rehired, just so the Texans could fire him again in case the first time didn’t take.

But the Jets have built their hopes, dreams, entire roster, and trade plans around a rapidly-aging Aaron Rodgers. They can’t go quietly. They’re “all in,” which is a term I still don’t believe Jerry Jones understands.

On a related note, Ryan Fitzpatrick signed a contract extension with Amazon this week. Fitzpatrick, who played for what feels like a couple dozen NFL teams, won 13 games for the Jets. That’s the most wins of any Jets QB since Mark Sanchez.

And that’s why the Jets feel like they had to do it. Their bridge is burning underneath them every week.

Time for my week six picks. Last week I went 5-1 for the second straight time, but 3-3 against the Vegas point spreads. In my defense, I forgot that the Colts always lose in Jacksonville. Seriously, that’s happened 10 years in a row now. Lesson learned there. On the season, I’m now 20-13 and a palindromic 12-21 against Vegas. As always, these are for the purposes of comedic discussion only. No wagering.

Detroit (-3) at Dallas: Amazing how quickly an in-game confrontation is overshadowed by a game-winning drive, isn’t it?

Pick: Cowboys to win it outright.

Houston (-6.5) at New England: Texans losing Nico Collins hurts a lot, but getting to play a rookie quarterback in his first start definitely helps.

Pick: Texans to win and cover, winning by seven points or more.

Cleveland (+9.5) at Phildelphia: I’ll bet the pregame meetup between Browns coach Kevin Stefanski and Eagles coach Nick Sirianniis just both of them pointing at each other like that Spider-Man meme, saying “I thought YOU were supposed to get fired first this season!”

Pick: Eagles to win but not cover, winning by nine points or fewer.

Tampa Bay (-3.5) at New Orleans: Of all the risky things I’ve ever done in New Orleans, I think getting excited about the start of the Spencer Rattler Era may be in the top 10.

Pick: Bucs to win and cover, winning by four points or more.

Buffalo (-2.5) at NY Jets: My constants are death, taxes, and always picking the team who just fired their coach to win the next week.

Pick: Jets to win it outright.

Pittsburgh (-3) at Las Vegas: This Raiders quarterback competition feels a lot like the choice between airline food and hospital food.

Pick: Steelers to win and cover, winning by four points or more.

I’ll also take the Commanders to upset the Ravens, Bengals over the Panthers, and the Liberty to beat the Lynx. Good luck, everybody.