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New York Jets senior defensive assistant and cornerbacks coach Tony Oden was sent to the hospital on Wednesday, August 16.
A brawl broke out between members of the Jets and the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers at joint practice. Oden got involved in the skirmish and was shaken up.
Connor Hughes of SNY said the cart had to come out for Oden and he called it a “scary scene.”
Rich Cimini of ESPN that he “apparently” collapsed on the far sideline and was attended to for several minutes by the medical staff. When the cart went off the field he was “sitting up.”
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic said he might have “gotten banged up during a scuffle.” It looked like he was walking to see a player and then he “dropped back to the ground.” He was ultimately able to get to the cart under his own power.
Robert Saleh Provided an Update on Oden After Jets Practice
Head coach Robert Saleh said Oden caught some “friendly fire” during the skirmish and was “taken to the hospital.” Saleh did say that Oden “will be fine,” per Cimini.
Things got incredibly chippy during the only scheduled joint practice between the Jets and the Bucs ahead of their preseason game on Saturday, August 19. There was an additional joint practice scheduled on Thursday, August 17, but Saleh canceled it for safety reasons.
Saleh explained that one practice normally serves the purpose of both teams getting some good work in. What can often happen is a certain team wins the first day of practice and then the next day things get intense and that can cause fights.
However, despite those efforts by Saleh, fights continued to break out during Wednesday’s practice.
A longtime former player, Damien Woody, spoke out about the fights on Twitter.
“Reading about these fights in the Bucs/Jets joint practices they’re stupid & waste of time. You’re not going to fight in a game, so why do it during practice. I’ve done it before & broke my hand doing it. Complete waste of time/energy.”
Oden Has Future Head Coaching Ability
Oden is starting his third season in New York with the Jets since being hired by Saleh back in 2021.
He has had a long-ranging football journey dating back to 1996 at the collegiate level all the way to the NFL level now.
However, the one thing the 50-year-old hasn’t checked off of his bucket list is being a head coach.
I did an interview with Jets Senior Director, Eric Allen, on “The Boy Green Show” this summer and he agreed that it is only a matter of time before Oden reaches that level.
“Man he’s got it, you’ve been around people doing this for as long as you have. He has the connection with the players, he understands the game, the relatability factor is so huge,” EA told me.
On top of his individual goals, Oden also wants another Super Bowl ring.
“Obviously I want another, I got a bunch of fingers and only one ring,” Oden told EA on “The Official Jets Podcast.”
Oden won his only Super Bowl as an assistant secondary coach of the New Orleans Saints coaching staff back in 2010.
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