No we won't because it's already been widely speculated this week that Saleh will be one of the hottest DC candidates on the market with tons of options this offseason. No one will talk about him as a potential HC because it's well known that he's a good DC and that's it.
If the Jets don't make the playoffs this season and Woody Johnson keeps ANY member of the FO/coaching staff, this franchise will NEVER get it right. Meanwhile, long time suffering franchises like Washington now have a stud rookie QB and they're going to be real good for a long time now because they got a new owner who has a vision and knows what it takes to win in this league which is a young stud QB. Meanwhile the Jets are rolling out 40+ year old banged up, suspect QBs who live in the media spotlight and act like they have one of the most talented rosters in the league. It's so sad but the entire league laughs at the Jets while everyone else learns to own up and learn from their mistakes and move on. It's perpetual fucktudery and delusion at its finest. The Saleh talk is so boring because the problems with the Jets franchise are so much bigger than Saleh and have been way before he was here and will continue to be now that he's gone. Oh, and he'll end up with his pick of DC jobs next year and build a stout D and most likely stick it to the Jets. Good for him. Woody Johnson is poison.
I wonder if the playoff drought will still be going when we trade for Jordan Love sometime in the mid-to-late 2030s.
Thanks for clarifying regarding Saleh, in my book I just can't give the guy any credit: the team looks exactly the same with Rodgers and a much improved OL as it did with Zach and shit OL, plus improved WR room with Big Mike and a #1 in 3d round draft choice. Same mental lapses, penalties, slow starts, inability to adjust, cannot take advantage of longer breaks, outcoached every games, etc... Defense looks just as good as before: Saleh is a DC, and that's it, not a HC. Even one good thing on offence he finally decided to do, which is to give playing duties to Downing for 1 game, Brick did much better by instead making Downing full OC, and not just a game, but all year. As far as Rodgers, I am not sure what he did or did not oppose. I don't think he meddles in ownership decisions a lot, especially after getting hurt and needing a chance himself. Clearly he did not oppose Downing replacing Hack as OC now for the rest of the season. Saleh did in fact bring in these other voices for interviews. So, it's not like Rodgers or Woody opposed it (otherwise they would not be interviewed), it's that no one good was coming here for what was likely a last year of a failing regime unless they have no choice. And good guys usually have a choice: all of these guys found jobs for more stable regimes. I just think last year Woody fucked up by keeping them under the dumb premise that Rodgers got hurt, we didn't have a QB, and everyone gets a pass. After 5 games in and looking exactly the same with much better talent offensively Woody finally grew a pair. I guess better late than never, but we would have been MUCH better off if this change was done in the offseason, where a HC vacancy and possibility of new regime could attract some offensive talent. Multiple things could be true: we didn't have a good starting QB, but also our HC sucks, our OC sucks, our OL coach sucks, and OL talent is not good enough, WR needs improvement, etc... It's just too bad Woody didn't realize it then. On Hack, yeah, I would also just fire him, but I don't think he will be a hinderance. He played that role in GB and there was no problem. The hinderance I see is Downing and Carter. These guys were not good in 2022, and I am not sure if they will do better here. Maybe there will be a slight boost enough to make play-offs, let's see. It could not get much worse than Saleh/Hack, and now both of these guys are out of their roles, following Peter's principle.
Speculation = Guesswork. It's been said before now that Saleh's performance was overrated in his only DC job in San Francisco. That team has done considerably better in the 3+ years since he left in measurables and was not significantly worse before he got there, His touted greatness as DC may very well have had more to do with personnel than his direction. His defenses gave up more points a year than the four years before his arrival and the three after. He'll get another job, possibly even this season, but I doubt his next job will be as a coordinator.
Who has it been said by that his performance in San Fran was overrated? Please provide link if possible from a credible source. I say he will definitely get a DC job next season, if not sooner, at his own choosing. And you say he won't. Got it. We will revisit this thread when he lands next season.
There has been plenty of conversation about it right here since he was hired. Getting to the Superbowl catches attention but in his tenure at SF he averaged something like 380 points allowed per season including almost 400 his last year there following their SB season. Maybe Buckner, Richard Sherman and Nick Bosa could have made Kotite look good. There's also the question about what happened to his defense in the biggest game Saleh ever coached... Super Bowl 2020: Richard Sherman, 49ers stumble in 4th - Yahoo Sports
No they couldn't have and Saleh did a fine job in San Fran as a DC. You're reaching and no offense, I'm talking about much more credible sources than posters on a Jets message board. Like I said we will revisit this when Saleh lands his next gig. You said he won't get a DC job and I say he will at the very least get a DC job (and have his pick of several).
Well, you can bet that everyone here will be watching to see how things go at his next stop. We'll definitely see what that is. Hell - we're still talking about Pete Carroll! But I didn't say he won't get a DC job, I said I doubt his next job will be as DC; you say he will definitely get a DC job "at the very least." We'll just have to wait and see - as Jets fans we're used to that.
Its clear Saleh will get looked at as a DC--his track history is very good and he will get the credit for NYJ defensive rank. I think similarly, JD will get a look as an assistant GM--he did well as a cap guy, and in philly he apparently did well organizing scouting reports into a portfolio for decision makers and other assistant GM tasks. I can't blame Woody for taking a chance on these two--both had good track records at the ranks below leader. It would be nice if the recognition of their lack of competency at the higher level positions came sooner. This is an issue with NYJ historically. We hold onto assets that are shown to be overvalued for far too long. ZW comes to mind as another recent example. A current example is Breece. I have no idea what happened but he's not the same guy. The messaging that he is fine and we are over-reacting is BS. Time him in the 40--time him in the cones. Then compare previous. It's very obvious--just how long they're going to have him be the first RB is something to watch. If he turns it around tonight I'll happily eat crow.
Saleh coached with Bobby Slowik, Texans OC and hot HC candidate for 2025. I could see Slowik getting a job and making Saleh his DC. (unless Slowik gets the Jets job of course) Though I personally think Saleh should consider coaching college football. The lines are blurred now so that it's almost like coaching professionals and he has the personality for college football. I could see him being good at recruiting, and what he sucked at with the Jets, transparency with the media, especially on injuries, managing the QB position, etc... are less of an issue in the college game
Good read from Cimini on the timeline of things and more details. I'm starting to buy that this was Woody-driven and not Rodgers-driven. I'll try to stay optimistic for Ulbrich. Players coach is fine if it's coupled with accountability and high standards. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id...s-look-coach-robert-saleh-split-woody-johnson
There’s merit to both sides. Saleh runs a fundamentally simple defense. He does not like to blitz as he’d rather have the front 4 apply pressure, and as such he relies on a heavy rotation to keep them fresh and gaining a physical edge over the OL. He utilizes a handful of coverage options and that’s it. He himself has stated a monkey could run it. While that may be an obvious oversimplification, in the realm of the NFL it is that simple. His D is the type that needs players that fit his philosophy, and it needs multiple great players. Especially CB’s and pass rushers. Once he has them his D is ferocious. What Saleh doesn’t do is adjust his D to suit his players. Other more cerebral DC’s may employ more complicated and exotic defenses to fit the strengths of the players and also account for their weaknesses. On the opposite side of the spectrum is where you find a genius like Belicheck. He’s employed all forms of defense based on the players he has. He’s even changed his D’s week to week to confuse opponents. Saleh isn’t looking to confuse anyone by outsmarting them, he’s looking to overpower them with physicality. There’s alot of DC’s that are like Saleh so I’m not saying he is an outlier or necessarily inferior, but if he doesn’t have the players, he doesn’t have a good defense.
Totally agree that Saleh should be a recruiter or college coach. He stinks as an NFL head coach. He is just a glorified cheerleader! He would be much better with all the rah rah/hoopla of a college football game. When Charles blocked the punt against the Titans, Saleh ran the length of the sideline to try to hug him. Aaron Rodgers clearly did NOT want (and declined) a hug from Saleh in the Patriots game. Real NFL coaches don't have the "huggy" approach of Saleh--they expect their players to perform well and their players are or should be a little scared of the coach. I live in the midwest and don't see all the jets games, but I cannot recall one occasion where Saleh yelled at a player during the game for a miscue. Same with Rex Ryan. They are so damn concerned with what the players think of them that nothing else matters. It especially shows with all the penalties the jets committed under Saleh. No discipline, no fear of reprisal from the head coach (or anyone else). NFL players need a coach to motivate and discipline them, not give them a hug.
Thanks, good to know exactly how it all occurred. However, I am not sure where you got that this was Rodgers driven. In fact, the article suggests precisely the opposite: "Saleh doesn't believe Rodgers influenced ownership's decision". The same was expressed by Woody, and AR himself. You have all three 1st party sources saying AR didn't have anything to do with it, the owner did. At this point we can pretty much assume that as a fact. Now, is it possible Rodgers has given some feedback to Woody that wasn't amazing about Saleh? Of course - I mean Saleh sucked, so it is possible some feedback would not be great. But Woody made this decision, and I am no fan of his for not doing this in January, but he was the one who finally grew a pair and made the right decision. As far as Woody being boxed in last offseason not to get rid of loser HC and offensive staff, this is BS. We know AR wanted to run it back, he is entitled to his opinion, but he himself was coming off major injury and needed to prove himself. Woody owns the team. Woody should have had the balls to come to AR and tell him he will get rid of these guys and would like his input on the new coach, something like that. He wasn't boxed in, just didn't have the balls to do what had to be done. At least he grew a pair now, but I do wish he did it then when we could have gotten better OC than Downing and OL coach than Carter. Plus would have kept Brick too as a DC.
No doubt he has his strengths and weaknesses but he's always ran a solid D. And he will have his pick of DC jobs to choose from whenever he wants to get back in the game. Many around the league think highly of his defensive acumen.
Agreed. His record speaks for itself. As bad as he was as a HC (and he was very bad) he had good defense in SF and with the Jets. Whether he was a good/solid DC or better than that can be debated, but I don't think he is a bad DC, that much is a consensus view at this point.
I'll let @JetFanInPA explain his comment if he wants, but from my POV there's a difference between the implication that Rodgers called up Woody and told him to fire Saleh, and giving Woody feedback that he didn't think things were working out with Saleh, both of which might have led to Woody deciding to fire Saleh. I accept that - but don't know for a fact - that Rodgers did not initiate any calls asking Woody to fire Saleh. I also accept after reading this article that Woody didn't say he didn't discuss Saleh once he was on the phone with Rodgers. Saying "I didn't solicit Aaron's opinion" isn't exactly a denial that he accepted whatever input Rodgers had, and in context of the timeline it makes sense to me that given Woody was already agitated with the poor play, and had apparently put Saleh on notice that things had to change, that right after the loss in London he calls Rodgers, and for what other purpose than to confirm his desire to fire Saleh. I don't buy for a minute that Woody was just checking on Rodgers' health. This has all the makings of a guy who probably wanted to fire Saleh the previous week but maybe was counseled to take step back and reflect, and then witnessing the loss in London just wanted a "vote of confidence" to pull the trigger. Whether Aaron actually said "Fire Robert" I don't think was necessary, anything short of Rodgers' full throated defense of Saleh wasn't going to change Woody's mind. Along those lines, maybe Rodgers was more interested in protecting Hackett than Rodgers and wasn't going to try to save Saleh's ass. In any case, this is another example of Johnson exercising his emotions and creating a shitshow without any concept of what he's doing. Yes, there are only 32 of these jobs in the world, but you have to be pretty desperate at this point to want to work for this clown. As long as he owns the team, the next best thing I can think of happening is that Goodell find some reason to "suspend" him (and his brother) and get him out of any and all decisions - sort of like how MLB did with Steinbrenner which led to the Yankees ultimately building a new dynasty. One can dream.
