Newly hired New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh has a lot of decisions to make before the season ... [+]
Now that Robert Saleh has been hired by the New York Jets, the really hard work is about to begin for the first Muslim head coach in NFL history. Saleh's reputation as both an excellent defensive tactician and a fiery leader as the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator impressed the Jets’ hierarchy, and now it is up to Saleh (pronounced SAHL-uh) to translate his fine work as a coordinator into success as a head coach.
That final step up the ladder is the toughest one of all for any coach in any sport, and here are the top things on Saleh’s to-do list as he tries to help the Jets climb back to respectability and then to the post-season, a place they haven’t visited since the 2010 season.
Hire a defensive coordinator and, preferably, let him call the plays.
This is crucial. Remember, a major criticism of former Jets coach Adam Gase, in this space and in many other places, was that he was too focused on his play sheet on gamedays and thus was ill-equipped to coach up his players and react to the flow of the game, especially on the defensive side. He stood idly by, with a timeout in his pocket, when then-defensive coordinator Gregg Williams called the infamous max blitz that resulted in Las Vegas’ game-winning touchdown with five seconds left last month.
Saleh must find someone he can trust, someone who shares his defensive philosophies and let that person call the plays. Acting owner Christopher Johnson said after Gase was dismissed that “we can do better” than having someone focused only on one side of the ball on Sundays. No matter how smitten the Jets’ front office is with Saleh, if they let him do the same thing, it goes against one of their stated objectives in moving on from Gase.
Saleh must be hands-free and thus hands-on during gamedays, unfettered by a playsheet and able to coach up players on both sides of the ball on the spot if they make a mental mistake. Gase never did that, and it’s not a coincidence that New York was assessed the third-most penalty yardage in 2020. Granted, San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan calls the offensive plays, and he and Saleh have combined to create a very good culture with the 49ers. Changing the culture is another point of emphasis for New York.
But the Jets, at this moment, need a CEO to coach the whole team, and any distractions on gamedays will take away from that.
Kris Richard, former Seattle defensive coordinator and a former defensive play-caller for Dallas, is on the market and would be a solid choice for defensive coordinator. He and Saleh were on the same staff with the Seahawks for two years under Pete Carroll, another noted culture-builder.
What kind of defense will Saleh run?
Almost assuredly, he will stick with the 4-3 he used in San Francisco. Fortunately for him, the Jets used a lot more 4-3 fronts than 3-4 in 2020, even though they listed their personnel as a 3-4 scheme. Williams has been a 4-3 coordinator through most of his career and the occasional 3-4 fronts mostly were for show. Thus, the transition to Saleh shouldn’t be that difficult for the players that are retained.
What does he think of Sam Darnold?
Saleh likely will be non-committal when asked about Darnold, who his San Francisco defense did an excellent job of shutting down last September until Darnold improvised a 30-yard touchdown pass to Braxton Berrios in garbage time. (For the record, Darnold was 21-for-32 for 179 mostly harmless yards in that game, a 31-13 Jets’ loss.)
Saleh, general manager Joe Douglas and the Jets likely will play it close to the vest with what they really think of Darnold until draft night. New York owns the second overall pick, and it isn’t in the team’s best interest to tip its hand when it could be in the market to trade him and select a quarterback. Saleh’s new offensive coordinator also should have a say in the decision. Saleh will bring along San Francisco quarterbacks coach Mike LaFleur to be his coordinator, according to multiple reports.
Still, there is a danger that a defensive-minded coach such as Saleh could convince himself, and the Jets, that the underachieving Darnold still is worth riding with for at least another season. That would be dangerous, because despite the adversity he has faced in terms of poor coaching and subpar supporting casts, Darnold has yet to prove he can be a topflight NFL quarterback. And by 2022, his fifth season, he likely will be asking for the salary of a big-time quarterback.
It simply makes sense for the Jets to cut their losses and move on, and start the economic clock anew with a rookie quarterback, whether it is BYU’s Zach Wilson, Ohio State’s Justin Fields, or a later first-round pick (if they trade down). Defensive-minded coaches sometimes believe they can win games 19-13, 17-14, etc. with game-manager-type quarterbacks. However, that would be a mistake in today’s NFL, in which so many of the rules favor the offense. Saleh, Douglas and the Jets must realize this and move on, or else Saleh’s tenure could get off on the wrong foot.
