New York, NY – April 11, 2025
Robert Saleh isn’t mincing words. The former New York Jets head coach, sacked in October 2024, has branded ex-Jets wide receiver Mecole Hardman a “bust,” unleashing a blistering critique at the NFL Annual Meeting, sources told ESPN on Wednesday. Saleh didn’t stop there—he fired off a seven-word text to Hardman: “Your poor play got me fired.”
Saleh’s venom targets Hardman’s brief, lackluster Jets stint in 2023. Signed as a UFA on March 22 for one year at $4.5 million (Spotrac), Hardman flopped—14 catches, 124 yards, no TDs in 6 games (NFL.com). Traded back to the Chiefs on October 18, he left Saleh stewing.
“Hardman was a disaster—zero impact,” Saleh seethed to reporters, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini. The Jets went 2-3 in his first five weeks as HC before his firing after Week 5—a skid he pins on Hardman’s fade. “He sank us,” Saleh added.
Contrast that with Hardman’s Chiefs glow. From 2019-2022, he racked up 151 catches, 2,014 yards, and 16 TDs over 57 games, snagging Super Bowl LIV (web ID: 0). Returning in 2023, he added a game-winning TD in Super Bowl LVIII (25-22 vs. 49ers)—a stark 180 from his Jets flop.
Jets fans erupted on X: “Saleh’s right—Hardman was trash here!” one tweeted. “Bust city—good riddance!” another jabbed. Hardman’s 8.9 yards-per-catch average in New York paled next to his 13.3 with KC, a drop-off Saleh blames for derailing a 2023 turnaround.
The Jets traded Hardman for a sixth-rounder, a move Saleh now calls “too late.” His 2-3 start ballooned to a 4-13 finish under interim HC Jeff Ulbrich (web ID: 13). Hardman’s Chiefs revival—two rings—only salts the wound.
Saleh’s text, confirmed by a source, stings: “Your poor play got me fired.” Hardman, now a UFA post-Chiefs, hasn’t replied. Chiefs Kingdom smirks—Saleh’s Jets bust is their Super Bowl spark.
