Count former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick among those who are confused with the New York Jets' decision to fire head coach Robert Saleh after just five games this season.

"It is a little bit puzzling," Belichick said on the Coach Podcast episode that was released Wednesday. "It is what it is, and everybody has to move forward. It's the owner's prerogative to make that decision, and clearly that's what he decided to do.

"But there have been a lot of things that have been kind of confusing. It hasn't been a great situation for the Jets this year. You can kind of feel there's been kind of a chill."

Saleh was fired Tuesday and released his first public comments Wednesday in a statement released to the media where he discussed how "grateful" he was for the opportunity and to work with the players and team:

While the Jets are just 2-3 this season and went 20-36 under Saleh since the start of the 2021 campaign, the timing turned heads.

If Jets owner Woody Johnson was going to have this short of a leash for a head coach working with new expectations thanks to the return of a healthy Aaron Rodgers, the team may have been better off going in a different direction after the 2023 campaign so it had an entire offseason to plan accordingly.

Johnson explained his perspective when he told reporters, "It's not just the last two games that has precipitated this decision. It's a longer time frame. I've had a couple years to think about this. And yeah, I just think we can do better. The team can do better."

New York won't have much time to think things over, as it plays a critical AFC East game against the Buffalo Bills on Monday. A victory would propel the team into first place in the division with plenty of opportunity to challenge for a postseason spot.

Perhaps the Jets will rally around a coaching change and make that type of run.

But the timing of Saleh's firing was still questionable, and Belichick joined the chorus of those who noticed.