Robert Saleh has texted every single player on the Jets and has met a few in person at the training facility.
Robert Saleh wasted no time acquainting himself with his players.
Saleh spoke to the media for the first time on Thursday and said he’s already reached out to every single Jets player via text. He added that he’s met a few players in person while they were rehabbing from injuries at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center.
Saleh said he will have an “open door” policy with his players, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini.
The Jets head coach noted in his introductory press conference how important it is to make a “personal investment” in people, especially his players.
“Everybody says this is a business,” Saleh said. “It’s not. It’s a personal investment to people. The most important people are the ones that strap up on gameday and step between the lines.”
He added: “The investment you put in players has to be equivalent to the investment you put in your children.” Saleh openly talked about wanting to see his guys get paid as well.
That’s sure to get some Jets to buy into their new head coach.
Clearly, Saleh is a player’s coach. He offered a different vibe Thursday than the one Adam Gase did during his two years with the Jets. Saleh’s predecessor didn’t always appear to be on the same page as his players, and Gase experienced personnel rifts in New York and Miami.
Now, with Saleh coming in as the new head coach, he has already brought in a breath of fresh air.
It’s never easy to hire a coach, and predicting which ones will succeed is generally futile. Nevertheless, here are our 100 percent correct reactions to the hirings with grades that are certified to stand the test of time and prove to be an accurate reading of the situation.
Let’s kick things off, surprisingly, in Florham Park, New Jersey.
Robert Saleh officially begins filling out his staff on the Jets.
Robert Saleh’s new coaching staff is filling out nicely.
The Jets announced 16 hires after Saleh’s introductory press conference Thursday, including offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.
The LaFleur hiring was heavily reported soon after the Jets hired Saleh – both joined Kyle Shanahan’s staff in San Francisco in 2017 – but Ulbrich joins the Jets after taking over as Falcons defensive coordinator in 2020 following a five-year stint as linebackers coach from 2015-2019.
Ulbrich, a former NFL linebacker for the 49ers, coached with Saleh in Seattle in 2011 when Ulbrich was a special teams assistant and Saleh was a defensive quality control coach. Ulbrich coached at UCLA as the special teams and linebackers coach from 2012-2014 before returning to the NFL with the Falcons.
The rest of the Jets’ defensive staff – for now –includes: defensive line coaches AaronWhitecotton and Nate Ollie, and defensive assistants Chip Vaughn, Ricky Manning Jr. and Hayes Pullard.
LaFleur will lead the offense and will be joined by quarterbacks coach Rob Calabrese, offensive line coach John Benton, running backs coach Jon “Taylor” Embree, tight ends coach Ron Middleton, wide receivers coach Miles Austin, passing game specialist Greg Knapp and offensive assistants Billy VandeMerkt, Mack Brown and Todd Washington.
Robert Saleh was once a tight end at DII Northern Michigan. Now his college coach, Eric Holm, is thrilled to see Saleh running the Jets.
Eric Holm and his wife were watching TV at their Kansas City home when the news broke.
Now mostly retired, the former Northern Michigan University head coach had been keeping up with the rumors and tracking NFL interviews, so he wasn’t surprised when the Jets announced that they were hiring Robert Saleh on the night of Jan. 14. What Holm didn’t expect, however, was an immediate response to a congratulatory text.
Their lives taking them separate ways since their days at Division II NMU, Holm and Saleh had only reconnected about a month prior. And yet, amid the biggest night of his career, Saleh felt it was important to reply to his college coach right away.
“I texted him congratulations and good luck and all that and I got a text back from him a minute later. Honestly, I was moved by that,” Holm, 61, told Jets Wire. “New York City, the center of the universe, and one of the plum jobs in the NFL, the New York Jets. I can’t imagine all the things he’s got going from all different directions.
“And yet he took the time to text me back a quick thanks. For an old coach like me, that was meaningful, and it tells you that’s just the kind of person he is.”
Saleh, 41, played for the Wildcats from 1998-2002 while earning a finance degree. This was long before he ever endeared himself to NFL players with his demonstrable confidence and fire on the sidelines. Holm said Saleh lacked some of that poise and passion as a college kid, but he was as coachable as they come.
“He was almost too good to be true in some regards,” Holm said. “He just did what was asked of him, never complained. ‘Yes sir, no sir. Yes coach, no coach.’ He was a joy.”
Congratulations to NMU alumnus Robert Saleh! 👏
Saleh was an all-conference tight end as a Wildcat (1998-2002) and graduated from NMU with a bachelor's degree. https://t.co/QY6hHRGJaX
— Northern Michigan University (@NorthernMichU) January 15, 2021
Saleh learned about hard work and respect growing up in an immigrant household. His dad, Sam, was born in Michigan but spent part of his childhood in Lebanon. He went on to play linebacker at Eastern Michigan and got a training camp audition with the Bears before suffering a knee injury. Saleh’s mother, Fatin, was born in Lebanon and emigrated during her teenage years.
Holm remembers Saleh’s family being an involved one. There was this one time NMU went to play Wayne State in Detroit, a short drive from the family home in blue-collar Dearborn. Saleh’s parents insisted on hosting the Wildcats’ entire traveling party – upwards of 60 people – for a team meal. That’s no small task, but the family loved every second of it.
For Holm, the memory perfectly sums up Saleh’s roots and the person he grew into.
“They relished us being there,” Holm said of Saleh’s parents. “You could just tell that’s where Robert came from. In watching him as an adult and as a coach, he just seems to be the epitome of a servant leader and it comes by naturally.”
The family of Jets head coach Robert Saleh, from left: brother David Saleh, sister Jehan Saleh, mother Fatin Saleh, father Sam Saleh, Robert Saleh and sister Krystal Saleh. (Jehan Saleh/Special to Detroit Free Press via Imagn)
Saleh has been a defensive coach throughout his NFL career, but he was a “classic tight end” for Holm, someone with sure enough hands to catch the ball and a big enough frame to block. Saleh, who earned all-conference honors, wasn’t the fleetest of foot, but it was clear that he understood the game well as a young adult.
Holm believes having played on the opposite side of the ball has helped Saleh as a defensive coach and will continue to aid him now that he’s responsible for an entire team. Ironically, Holm namedropped Gregg Williams to further his point. He and the ex-Jets defensive coordinator were teammates at what is now known as Truman State, where Williams was the quarterback long before he became a defensive schemer.
“There’s something to be said for having experience on both sides to give you an overall perspective,” Holm said. “It’s kind of like seeing the chessboard. You not only have to understand where you’re moving your pieces, but you have to understand where the other guy is going with his.”
The Jets’ last head coach, Adam Gase, was strictly – and ineffectively – offense-oriented, essentially allowing Williams to be the head coach of the defense. That structure backfired in Week 13 this past season when an unchecked Williams called a game-blowing, all-out blitz against the Raiders. He was fired the next day, while Gase was relieved at the end of the season after compiling a 9-23 record over two seasons in New York.
New York’s brass made it clear it was going to look for a CEO-type this time around, someone who could lead an entire team, build a staff and collaborate with everyone in the building. Saleh, after two interviews, convinced Joe Douglas and Christopher Johnson he was the man for the job.
“We spoke to some tremendous coaches, but Rob is the right partner and leader for us,” Douglas said in a statement. “His vision for this team aligns with what we have been working to establish here the last two years.”
Saleh, who will be introduced as the 20th head coach in Jets history on Thursday, is well-aware of the tall task ahead. The franchise owns the longest playoff drought in the NFL and hasn’t enjoyed a winning season since 2015. Never mind that New York’s first and only Super Bowl win was back in the 1968 season.
In addition to all the losing, the Jets have lacked talent, identity and culture in recent years. That’s a lot for a rookie head coach to take on, and it won’t all change in one offseason. Saleh admitted “we have a lot of work to do” in his first official quote as a member of the Jets.
Holm, for one, is thrilled that his former pupil will get the opportunity to turn Gang Green around after years of observing Saleh from afar. Division II football isn’t exactly a breeding ground for NFL head coaches, but Saleh has risen from the gridiron at Northern Michigan to the largest media market in the country.
His old college coach believes the feat is a testament to his dedication.
“When you’re a Division II coach or player, it’s much harder to picture yourself being an NFL coach. It’s just the way the system is kind of set up,” Holm said. “Everybody takes a different path to ascend to that level. It says so much about him that he didn’t have the natural thing where you’re a star player or you’re at Division I and you have these connections or these ties. For him to come from where he came from to become an NFL coach, especially at his young age, says everything you need to know. You have to work at it. You have to earn it.
Robert Saleh’s former 49ers player thinks the Jets are a great landing spot for Deshaun Watson
Richard Sherman has some thoughts on who Deshaun Watson should play for next season.
In an interview on Cris Collinsworth’s podcast, Sherman advised Watson to join the Jets if New York struck a deal with the Texans. Watson has a no-trade clause in his contract and would need to sign off on any trade before it can be finalized.
“I’d get out of there as quickly as possible,” Sherman said, referring to Houston. “I’d head to New York.”
It isn’t surprising to see Sherman pitch the Jets as an enviable landing spot. He’s an ardent supporter of new Jets head coach Robert Saleh and tweeted that the Jets “got a great one” when news broke of Saleh’s hiring. Sherman could also be a target for the Jets this offseason; he is an impending free agent and it doesn’t look like he is going to re-sign with the 49ers.
Watson, meanwhile, is unhappy with the Texans for a variety of reasons. The Texans allegedly didn’t include him in the hiring process of GM Nick Caserio and initially refused to interview Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy for the head coaching job after Watson asked that they do so. Watson also wanted the Texans to interview Robert Saleh before the Jets hired him.
Whether or not a trade occurs remains speculative, though. Despite reports that the Texans have had internal conversations about trading Watson and that he is “done” with Houston, no trade is imminent or even probable. The Jets are one of the only teams that have enough tradeable assets – like first-round picks – and cap space to absorb Watson’s contract, but it’s unclear if this is the road Joe Douglas wants to go down.
One player that took notice of Sherman’s comment was impending gree agent wide receiver Allen Robinson, who liked the quote in a tweet a day after liking a hypothetical trade that sent Watson to the Jets. Robinson will be one of the most sought-after free agents this offseason after he caught 200 balls for 2,397 yards and 13 touchdowns over the past two years for the Bears. The Jets could easily make a run at Robinson with their estimated $65 million in cap space, per Over The Cap.
At the end of the day, though, Twitter is Twitter and quotes from players are just words. Nothing is impending, and nothing can even happen until the 2021 league year begins in March. Until then, we’ll just get rumors and speculations on Watson’s future.
Following the 2020 NFL regular season, 49ers and Rams defensive coordinators Robert Saleh and Brandon Staley have left the NFC West.
The offseason is in full effect for the NFC West, and the teams are wasting no time. The Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers are all undergoing major turnover at critical coaching spots, and it will likely make many 12’s very happy about the news.
The Seahawks may have dismissed offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, but he won’t be the only coach leaving the division. Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley and 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh will also be moving on to greener pastures.
Saleh will become the new head coach of the New York Jets, while Staley will likely not even have to move homes to become the new head coach for the Los Angeles Chargers.
Both coaches have made life a living hell for Russell Wilson, the Seahawks offense, and 12’s everywhere in recent years. Saleh’s ability to motivate the Niners defense was a problem. Whether San Francisco was playing for a Super Bowl or in a meaningless game once their season ended, the Niners defense played hard and gave the Seahawks fits in their Week 17 game.
Meanwhile, Brandon Staley had been eating Brian Schottenheimer’s lunch for two years now. Seattle had no answers for the Rams defense, and it was painfully evident in their 30-20 loss in the Wild Card round. The Seahawks floundered around aimlessly for 60 football minutes, unable to create anything meaningful against Los Angeles.
Of course, the Rams and Niners still have plenty of talented players to keep harassing Russell Wilson and Co. but getting two great coaches out of the division should make life a bit easier for Seattle.
The New York Jets officially announced the hiring of the organization’s 20th head coach, Robert Saleh, on Tuesday afternoon.
Robert Saleh is officially the head coach of the New York Jets.
The team made the announcement official on Tuesday afternoon, just a day after the former 49ers defensive coordinator put pen to paper. Now, Saleh is at One Jets Drive and ready to get to work.
New York went through an extensive head-coaching search, interviewing nine different candidates with unique skills and backgrounds. Saleh, along with newly-hired Falcons head coach Arthur Smith, were the only two candidates to receive in-person interviews with Jets officials. Following New York’s second meeting with Smith this past Thursday, the Jets agreed in principle to make Saleh their next head coach.
“After a thorough process and meeting with a number of talented coaches, it was clear to us that Robert was the right person to help us move forward,” Jets CEO Christopher Johnson said in a statement. “He is a collaborative leader with proven success in the NFL. In addition to his work as a coach on this level, his passion and knowledge of the game along with his vision for establishing an identity for this team sold me. It was also clear that he will partner with Joe (Douglas) to help foster and develop the winning culture we are striving to establish. For us as a group, we were impressed with the way he commanded the space and his ability to communicate his vision throughout the process.”
Douglas added: “We spoke to some tremendous coaches, but Rob is the right partner and leader for us. His vision for this team aligns with what we have been working to establish here the last two years.”
Saleh, who served as the 49ers defensive coordinator from 2017-2020, felt that this was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. The organization’s 20th head coach will be introduced on Thursday at 2 p.m., but he already has a message for Jets fans.
“There are no shortcuts to success, and I am committed to working with Joe to build this team the right way: with talented players that play fast and smart, and a staff that supports and helps develop them through it all,” Saleh said.
“To Jets Fans, your passion and commitment are priceless. I understand your expectations and embrace them. We have a lot of work to do and can’t do it without your support.”
Robert Saleh has hired Taylor Embree as his running backs coach and Miles Austin as his wide receivers coach.
Robert Saleh has made two new additions to his coaching staff.
According to the NFL Network’s Peter Schrager, Saleh has hired Taylor Embree to be his running backs coach and Miles Austin to be his wide receivers coach. The news comes a day after four other hires were reported.
With the hirings of Embree and Austin, Saleh now has six offensive assistant coaches. He has yet to hire an assistant on the defensive side of the ball.
Embree got started in coaching in 2012 when he was hired as an offensive graduate assistant for UNLV. In 2013, he moved onto UCLA, where he was a defensive graduate assistant for a year before moving back to an offensive graduate assistant for the next two years.
Embree made his jump to the NFL with the Chiefs in 2016 as a defensive assistant. He did that for a season until the 49ers hired him as an offensive quality control coach in 2017. This past season, Embree was the tight ends coach at the University of Colorado.
Austin is coming over from San Francisco, where he was the offensive quality control coach in 2019. Prior to becoming a coach, Austin was a pro and college scouting intern with the Dallas Cowboys.
Austin had a 10-year playing career in the NFL with three teams, including the Cowboys, Browns and Eagles. He had 361 catches for 5,273 yards 37 touchdowns for his career.
Robert Saleh’s coaching staff is starting to take shape as the Jets’ head coach has brought two 49ers assistants with him to New York.
Robert Saleh is beginning to form his coaching staff.
The Jets’ head coach is taking two 49ers assistants with him to New York, according to NFL Network’s Michael Silver. Mike LaFleur, who was San Francisco’s passing game coordinator, will serve as Saleh’s offensive coordinator, while John Benton will take on the role of offensive line coach and run game coordinator.
LaFleur is the younger brother of Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. The 33-year-old experienced a quick rise under Kyle Shanahan, serving as an offensive intern for him in Cleveland before becoming an offensive assistant in Atlanta. He then followed Shanahan to San Francisco, where he was the team’s passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach from 2017-18. He dropped the wide receiver coach’s title in 2019 and 2020.
Benton has 33 years of coaching experience, including 16 seasons in the NFL. The new Jets offensive line coach just completed his fourth season in San Francisco. Benton’s notable achievements include serving as the Houston Texans offensive line coach from 2006-13, where his offensive line helped establish one of the NFL’s most potent offensive attacks. The Texans set franchise records for rushing yards (2,448) in 2011 and passing yards (4,564) and total offense (6,129 yards) in 2009.
Benton’s unit was instrumental in San Francisco’s march to the Super Bowl in 2019. The 49ers’ offense ranked second in the NFL in rushing yards per game (144.1) and fourth in the league in total offense (381.1 yards per game).
In addition, Silver also reported that former Falcons quarterbacks coach Gregg Knapp will join the Jets in the same role, while Broncos quality control coach Rob Calabrese will be New York’s passing game coordinator.
Knapp has significant NFL experience as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, including his work with Michael Vick in Atlanta from 2004-06. Knapp most recently served as the Falcons QB coach from 2018-20.
Calabrese has had a fast rise up the coaching ranks. The former college quarterback was the offensive coordinator at Wagner University before becoming an offensive quality control coach with Denver from 2019-20.
