Hope for the Jets?
Hiring of seasoned Robert Saleh could signify that New York’s AFC team has a sound plan in place.
When was the last time that Jets fans were truly happy?
That question kept pulsing through my mind lask week, in the moments and hours after the Jets announced that 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh would be their next head coach.
That news set off a wave of unrestrained joy and celebration on social media, the likes of which I’ve never seen in my five seasons covering the team.
Sure, most of the fans were happy when the Jets signed Le’Veon Bell two years ago. But many warned of the potential train wreck looming – and turned out to be right.
When the Jets made Joe Douglas their general manager in June 2019, there was also hope for the future. But there was an underlying distrust in CEO Christopher Johnson after the ugly breakup with previous GM Mike Maccagnan, and Adam Gase’s role in it.
It was hard to find those types of reservations with the Saleh hire.
It’s not because Saleh, who turns 42 this month, is a lock to be a great head coach. There are too many variables, too many uncertainties to know how any person will fare their first time in the job.
The Jets seem to have a real plan. This New York team seems to be ready to start to forge a true identity, something the Jets haven’t had since the days of Rex Ryan prowling the sideline.
For the first time in a long time, there is reason to believe the Jets are headed in the right direction.
The culture question
A little more than two weeks ago, the Jets fired Gase after a 2-14 2020 season, the second worst in franchise history. The look on Gase’s face in his final news conference – he was miserable and just wanted to move on – will forever represent one
of the worst eras in Jets football.
And while no players criticized Gase directly, nearly every one of them talked about the need for a culture change.
“I’ll tell you what I told Joe (Douglas) and the rest of the guys,” said offensive tackle George Fant, the former Seahawk who signed with the Jets last year. “The one thing in Seattle that they pushed was the culture. We have to change the culture. We have to bring a lot of culture here.”
Culture is more of a feeling and less of a tangible quality. But Fant might have defined it better than anyone, explaining the influence of Seahawks coach Pete Carroll.
“In Seattle, Pete is the culture,” Fant said. “The way he comes to work every day with excitement – he makes it feel like you’re not at work. You’re there having fun, playing football and bonding with your teammates and coaches every day.”
Apparently, the message got through. This move felt different from 2015, when they were looking for the anti-Rex Ryan. Or the search in 2019, when they focused on offensive-minded coaches to get the most out of
young quarterback Sam Darnold.
This time there was only one focus: find the right leader for everyone in the locker room.
“I don’t much like the term CEO,” Johnson said on Jan. 4. “But it does describe what we’re looking for. We want a head coach that coaches the entire team, end-to-end, and his staff. You don’t have to be offensive, you don’t have to be defensive, this is a coach for the entire team, and that’s very important to us looking forward.”
Delivering on the promise
The commitment to finding the best overall leader was something Jets fans wanted to hear.
“We’re looking for a person with great character and integrity,” said Douglas, who has two decades of NFL experience, on Jan. 5. “A person that’s going to have outstanding vision of what they want the identity of this team to be moving forward, and then what’s the detailed plan on how they want to achieve this identity, someone that’s a great communicator, a great manager. We’re going to cast a very wide net.”
Teams regularly say things like that and don’t back it up. In this case the Jets did exactly what they said they were going to do.
They had a long, in-person session with Saleh on Jan. 12 and into Jan. 13, making him their first finalist. Then they let him walk out the door, immediately to an interview with the Eagles. And Jets fans got angry, thinking they had missed their chance with a coach who had been everything they were looking for.
But Douglas, Johnson and team President Hymie Elhai were just sticking to their process.
They interviewed the other finalist, Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. And then they decided to offer the job to Saleh, who accepted.
The final product
You just don’t know how these guys are going to react to the situation until they’re the one making the decisions under pressure.
But there are a lot of reasons to believe Saleh can be the guy who changes the culture within the locker room.
His past players rave about him, including Richard Sherman, who congratulated Jets fans on landing Saleh and this season raved about the job he did keeping together the 49ers’ defense as it was ravaged by injury.
“It’s week after week, and he never makes an excuse,” Sherman told 49ers reporters. “And statistically we’re still a top-five defense in almost every category. There are (coaches) out there with Pro Bowlers and All-Pros that have never had an injury, never had any adversity, and they’re not putting out a topfive defense.
“He’s not making any excuses, he’s making great plans week in and week out, and we’re making it happen. I expect him to be a head coach next year because of what he’s able to do. He’s a leader of men. He can rally men. And that goes a long way.”
“Robert helped to build a successful environment that has developed both players and coaches,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said in a statement.
“Robert is a great coach and an even better person,” 49ers GM John Lynch wrote. “He’s a gifted leader who has earned the opportunity to direct a team in this League. His contributions to the 49ers over the last four years have helped us establish a culture and a standard that will continue to serve us well.”
Just about everyone who passed through the 49ers building during Saleh’s four years there seems to think he has what it takes to turn this thing around.
“I am so damn excited for Saleh,” Joe Staley, the 49ers former All-Pro tackle, said on Twitter. “He is a leader. Unbelievable man and coach. Can’t wait to watch him turn around the Jets organization!”
That remains to be seen. But any process that ends with the Jets getting someone who was as sought after and widely praised as Saleh is a sign that indeed this thing might be headed in the right direction.
.533
The Blue Jays’ winning percentage last season. To make the playoffs in 2021, that number will almost certainly have to be higher.