Article On The Saleh Hire

[THE BARON]

"Did the Jets Make a Good Hire With Robert Saleh? (msn.com) - Daniel Kelly

This former Jets scout breaks down New York's decision to hire Robert Saleh and the head coach's performance since taking over one year ago

© Provided by Jets Country on FanNationDid the Jets Make a Good Hire With Robert Saleh?

After a 4-13 season in 2021, the question needs to be asked.

While the jury is still out on that question, the answer thus far is no. 

The alarming part of the Saleh hire is found on the defensive side of the ball. Defense is his area of expertise after serving as San Francisco’s Defensive Coordinator from 2017-2020.

In 2021, Saleh’s first in New York, the defense nosedived going from No. 16 in 2019, to No. 26 in 2020, down to last place in his inaugural season.

Defensive sack totals, the run and pass defense hit three-year low league rankings.

New York is a tough town that demands strong personalities to win. Those with softer personalities do not survive. You can look at the chronicle of coaches throughout the years to fill in the blanks.

The offensive side of the ball did show slight improvement from ranking last in 2019 and 2020, and went up to No. 26.

There was significant change in the passing game, going up to the No. 20 ranking (up from ranking No. 29 in 2019 and No. 31 in 2020). However, there was drop off in rushing (No. 25 after ranking No. 22 in 2020) and the team gave up more sacks than they have in the past three seasons (53).

While some attempt to insulate the Jets with excuses, that’s not where I come from, and it certainly is not where the staff I worked with came from. The term “rebuild” wasn’t part of Bill Parcells’ vocabulary.

Parcells took over the Jets in 1997 (who had gone 1-15 in 1996), went 9-7 in 1997, and won the AFC East and went to the AFC Championship game in 1998.

It can be done, but bottom line, Saleh is not getting it done.

The question begs to be asked, what kind of research went into the Jets hiring Saleh?

Saleh was hired from Kyle Shanahan’s staff in San Francisco. It was a staff that had produced 3/4 losing seasons prior to Douglas hiring Saleh.

When looking at Saleh’s defensive rankings, nothing outside of the 2019 season stands out.

49ers’ defensive rankings under Saleh:

2017: No. 25

2018: No. 28

2019: No. 8

2020: No. 17

Where did team General Manager Joe Douglas find the justification to hire Saleh in those numbers?

That is something only he can answer.

It doesn’t help that new 49ers’ Defensive Coordinator DeMeco Ryans produced the No. 9 ranking last season after taking over.

The question now is, will Saleh be able to turn things around in New York?

If he does, I will be the first to write a glowing article about the turn around, but if he doesn’t, might this be Saleh’s last year with the Jets?

It is very possible.

If the Jets turn in another dismal year, someone will be held accountable and my guess is, it will be Saleh. It is possible if the coming season goes south, we may see Mike LaFleur as the interim head coach by season’s end.

At this point, the Jets have taken on more of LaFleur’s offensive personality rather than Saleh’s defensive personality.

As a former Jets’ pro scout, it appears Saleh’s success in 2019 had more to do with the 49ers’ talent level than his ability to successfully strategize.

That is what the numbers suggest.

LaFleur was faced with the same challenges from a talent standpoint as Saleh was last season. LaFleur responded with creativity and overall improvement on offense, while the defense did nothing to compensate.

They did not even attempt to try anything different.

The defense under coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, and the watchful eye of Saleh stayed in the same worn out defensive looks that had not been effective all season, waiting on Douglas to bring in more talent through free agency and the draft.

Ulbrich gets credited with the poor results manifested by the unit, but let’s not kid ourselves, who ultimately is responsible.

In 2008, the Miami Dolphins went from being the worst team in the league the previous season to the playoffs with the invention of “The Wildcat.”

Granted, that was an offensive strategy, but the point being, some coaches improvise and others don't.

Ironically, Parcells was the Dolphins’ Executive Vice President of Football Operations, when Miami experienced that turnaround.

With the Jets facing a challenging upcoming schedule and three playoff caliber teams within their division, how will Saleh respond?

Only time will tell.

Was Saleh a good hire?

We will know by December. "

[kevinc855]

The lack of defensive adjustments worried me last year. I will chalk it up to his rookie year. But yea, year 2 I want to see more “defensive guru” out of him. 

[Bowles Movement]

This “ex Jet scout” is a click bait artist.  
His articles tend to be very contrarian.

He hates Zac, hates Saleh , hates Sauce, hates Johnson picks. Thinks Joe Douglas is bad.

Take it for what its worth, which is very little imo.

[Nixhead]

I’m not gonna read this guys whole article. With the lack of talent and a rookie QB and the untimely injuries the Jets were a 4 win team last season and that’s what they got 4 wins. So far Saleh seems to check all the boxes as a head coach. But true  this season will tell a lot about his head coaching abilities. I really think Saleh will be a good head coach.

[southparkcpa]

45 minutes ago, kevinc855 said:

The lack of defensive adjustments worried me last year. I will chalk it up to his rookie year. But yea, year 2 I want to see more “defensive guru” out of him. 

Absolutely…. He absolutely looked rookie. Clock mistakes, rookie mistakes . He did not look like true HC material at many points.  

[GangGreened]

The defense needs to be much, much better this year

[fusionCA]

so , based on this scout opinion the only way to measure how to hire a coach is where the defense (or the offense) he was in charge of was ranked?

 

good stuff 

 

"At this point, the Jets have taken on more of LaFleur’s offensive personality rather than Saleh’s defensive personality."

this sentence is a joke , one of the best attributes of good head coaches is to hire good coordinators  , and its something the Jets had problem with for years 

[Mogglez]

55 minutes ago, Bowles Movement said:

This “ex Jet scout” is a click bait artist.  
His articles tend to be very contrarian.

He hates Zac, hates Saleh , hates Sauce, hates Johnson picks. Thinks Joe Douglas is bad.

Take it for what its worth, which is very little imo.

He got Aaron Hernandez’s autograph tattooed on his hand.

After he was convicted of murder.

That’s not a joke.

[FootballLove]

I get what Daniel Kelly is saying...if our defensive strategy/play calling ain't getting it done, then change up....try something else.

BUT, we had a VERY young defense. Many rookies and 1st year guys who already were struggling to master the defense as it had been taught throughout TC and most of the season. How do you throw that game plan out and introduce something totally new on the fly 'just because'? If our  young men couldn't master what they've been practicing for the last 8 months, then what makes anyone believe they'd suddenly master a NEW plan mid season?

If our players were all vets who had learned several defenses over their careers, then maybe, sure. Change things up a bit. But with rookies still struggling to learn/play the only D they've ever known, then no way Hose.

[Jetsfan80]

1 hour ago, Bowles Movement said:

This “ex Jet scout” is a click bait artist.  
His articles tend to be very contrarian.

He hates Zac, hates Saleh , hates Sauce, hates Johnson picks. Thinks Joe Douglas is bad.

Take it for what its worth, which is very little imo.

Wait…when did thinking the Jets suck become the “contrarian” opinion?

[Hal N of Provo]

Dude it’s Daniel Kelly.  “Former Jets Scout”  
 

That needs to be in the thread title.  Most of Jets Twitter has the guy blocked for good reason.   

[Doggin94it]

The entire premise of the piece is stupid. Saleh want hired because he's a defensive genius, he was hired as a "leader of men" 

[CSNY]

I am really dumbfounded by the amount of people (Jets fans and scribes alike) that after one year are running Saleh Zach out of town. 
Let’s see how this upcoming season goes and how the team looks (coaching staff and players alike) before we burn them at the stake 

[Biggs]

Saleh was hired by the Jets for the same reason Steve Wilks was hired by Arizona.   CEO leader of men.  Steve Wilks lasted one season.  

[CSNY]

4 minutes ago, Biggs said:

Saleh was hired by the Jets for the same reason Steve Wilks was hired by Arizona.   CEO leader of men.  Steve Wilks lasted one season.  

As were any football coach baseball manager basketball coach. Most are given more than one year before they are canned 

[Biggs]

3 minutes ago, CSNY said:

As were any football coach baseball manager basketball coach. Most are given more than one year before they are canned 

You left off first time hires.   And yes many unqualified hires who last for more than 1 year shouldn't have.  

[Bungaman]

1 hour ago, CSNY said:

I am really dumbfounded by the amount of people (Jets fans and scribes alike) that after one year are running Saleh Zach out of town. 
Let’s see how this upcoming season goes and how the team looks (coaching staff and players alike) before we burn them at the stake 

^This. According to this criteria, Lombardi, Walsh, Landry, Knoll, Madden, et. al. should have been axed immediately after their first year.

And Kelly is doing exactly what now to earn a living? His skill set has landed him where?

[CSNY]

1 hour ago, Biggs said:

You left off first time hires.   And yes many unqualified hires who last for more than 1 year shouldn't have.  

Biggs it was a general statement. The point is after one year none of us were seasoned veterans when we got our first jobs in our chosen professions. We were allowed to make mistakes and learn from them. Let’s give these guys some more time before they are labeled as unqualified 

[slats]

11 hours ago, THE BARON said:

The alarming part of the Saleh hire is found on the defensive side of the ball. Defense is his area of expertise after serving as San Francisco’s Defensive Coordinator from 2017-2020.

In 2021, Saleh’s first in New York, the defense nosedived going from No. 16 in 2019, to No. 26 in 2020, down to last place in his inaugural season.

Defensive sack totals, the run and pass defense hit three-year low league rankings.

This article is a bunch of crap, laying a lot at Saleh’s feet that doesn’t deserve to be there. 
 
One of the things I like about the Saleh hire is that he wasn’t brought in to be a coordinator with a head coach title like the last few guys, he was brought in to be a CEO type head coach in charge of the entire operation and I thought he did a good job staying out of the defensive coaching last year and focusing on coaching the team. 
 
The red flags were all there on the defensive side of the ball last year, and that was before Lawson and Maye were lost for the season. For the first time since pre-Parcells, the Jets converted from a 3-4 to a 4-3 base. This requires much different front seven personnel, and would’ve been a huge job to do such an overhaul in one offseason. Many guys were let go because they didn’t fit (McClendon, Anderson, Hewitt, etc.), others had to adjust themselves (like Mosley trimming down). The focus of both the fans and the organization last year was all on offense. Fans generally applauded waiting until the fifth round to take a single defender. But the team lost a lot of talent on that side of the ball and just didn’t have the resources (after the investment in the offense) to replenish it. 
 
This year, they did a lot on defense, including adding two first round picks. Two new starting CBs, a safety, probably an edge with an extremely deep bench on the entire DL. The way I see it, last year was basically a 20 game exhibition season. It was all about teaching the new systems on each side of the ball. This year, there will need to be more urgency when it comes to closing out football games. I expect to see that. I think this defense is poised to make a bigger jump than the offense, and that this stupid argument will be exposed for all its stupidity. 

[bitonti]

We can attack the source all day but bottom line is that Saleh had the worst defense in franchise history. That's no good. All the excuses about injuries or whatever, he's supposed to be a defensive coach. 

[Flea Flicking Frank]

There were a lot of things I saw from Saleh that go against the notion of a good head coach. That said, it was one year and I hope he can grow into the job and develop into a good HC.

[THE BARON]

31 minutes ago, bitonti said:

We can attack the source all day but bottom line is that Saleh had the worst defense in franchise history. That's no good. All the excuses about injuries or whatever, he's supposed to be a defensive coach. 

Also had one of the worst rosters in franchise history.

[jetspenguin]

2 hours ago, Biggs said:

Saleh was hired by the Jets for the same reason Steve Wilks was hired by Arizona.   CEO leader of men.  Steve Wilks lasted one season.  

I live in AZ, not one word of this post is accurate....except the lasting one year part. 

He was NOT hired to be a leader of men. 

Edited July 12, 2022 by jetspenguin
clarification

[NIGHT STALKER]

Wasn't there several teams interested in hiring Saleh?  This ex Jets scout in the articles I've read previously sounds like a guy that has an ax to grind.

[Bowles Movement]

1 hour ago, bitonti said:

We can attack the source all day but bottom line is that Saleh had the worst defense in franchise history. That's no good. All the excuses about injuries or whatever, he's supposed to be a defensive coach. 

You can’t make chicken salad from chicken sh*t.   How many above average defenders did the Jets have last year?  How many Pro Bowlers?  How many rookies and first year guys in the secondary?  How many injuries when depth was thin?

[Jimmy 2 Times]

Saleh is a ceo type coach.  The defense is on the defensive coordinator.

His job is to rally the troops and oversee. 

It doesn’t matter what his defensive rankings were. 

[JoeNamathsFurCoat]

Great article.

Honestly, I was initially skeptical about Saleh being this hot candidate, but at some point I got on board mainly because I was sold on the "leader of men" aspect.  Even that is nebulous at this point.

And from a football POV, it's not exactly clear that Saleh is some defensive mastermind.

What Todd Bowles did to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, that was impressive.  Mind you, Bowles had a ton of talent to work with.

But I agree with this scout Kelly -- great coaches aren't wed to any scheme.  They are wed to winning.  And they realize that their job is to figure a plan every week for their team to win, regardless of philosophy.

Belichick had Mac Jones put the ball in the air all of 2 times to beat the Bills in an Orchard Park windstorm.

[Fantasy Island]

Saleh had no fire on the sidelines last year.  He just took whatever the refs gave and said thanks.  I wanted a Pitbull, he is more like a poodle that likes running up steps.

I hope he realizes the point is to win this year.

 

[Biggs]

2 hours ago, CSNY said:

Biggs it was a general statement. The point is after one year none of us were seasoned veterans when we got our first jobs in our chosen professions. We were allowed to make mistakes and learn from them. Let’s give these guys some more time before they are labeled as unqualified 

Very few people get a job with the kind of authority an NFL HC gets when they get their first professional job.  Saleh had a very thin resume and we were starting over with a new QB.   Everything screamed veteran from the offensive side of the ball.  Saleh was picked not because of his coaching accume but because of leadership qualities.  

I think Saleh had a very bad rookie year.  He needs to get a lot better very fast.  Nobody is giving up on him.  He's a nice guy and will get plenty of rope.  The reality is in our division there are two extremely good HC who are likely not going to give him time to catch up.   

[Drums]

17 minutes ago, Fantasy Island said:

Saleh had no fire on the sidelines last year.  He just took whatever the refs gave and said thanks.  I wanted a Pitbull, he is more like a poodle that likes running up steps.

I hope he realizes the point is to win this year.

 

Really? I seem to remember quite a few times of Saleh basically screaming at the refs. Get new glasses.

[#27TheDominator]

I was never in love with the Saleh hire, but this is not a great article.  It is a moron pointing out what we already know.  Does this guy take a sh*t without referencing his time with Parcells?

Saleh was a rookie hire.  He is from the defensive side, and the D looked very bad.  This is a news flash?  I know it hurts to hear, but they were trying to install last season, not win games.  It had to be hard to get much done when they started the season without their top DE, their S/CB hybrid was injured in the first game, their defensive leader had not played in 2 years and they lost Maye and a ton of other bodies as the year went on.  If they don't scheme some things up on D this year I will be upset, but I am not going to kill the guy for last year.  Players still come here looking like they want to play and they seemed to play hard all year.  We need to see results in the won/loss column now, but we knew that.  Saleh did not earn any extra leash with 2021, but he didn't fail in any spectacular way.  

Also, fire on the sideline?  That is a reference point for success in the NFL?  I don't see it. 

[Biggs]

2 hours ago, jetspenguin said:

I live in AZ, not one word of this post is accurate....except the lasting one year part. 

He was NOT hired to be a leader of men. 

I was a season ticket holder in AZ when Wilks was hired.  Wilks had a very thin resume.  Bidwill loved him.  He blew him away with his leadership skills.  

He was absolutely hired because of his leadership qualities.

 https://www.azcardinals.com/news/steve-wilks-builds-relationship-with-coaching

"One of the things I look for is strong leadership skills and with leadership comes self-confidence," Bidwill said. "He carries himself with self-confidence – and should, because of what he's done in his career. This is the next natural step for him. It's not too big of a job for him."

The big difference is Wilks actually was hired to handle the D and change the culture.  Keim who was a very established GM basically killed Wilks by hiring the entire offensive staff.  Douglas hasn't done that to Saleh.  

Wilks resume as thin as it was, was at least as good as Saleh's.  Wilks was a terrific positional coach and did a pretty good job in Carolina.  

Where in AZ do you live?  I lived in Scottsdale very close to Carefree and the Boulders.  Moved back to CT last year.  

[Embrace the Suck]

Saleh is the HC; not the DC. He is responsible for more than just "rebuilding the D" as a former D coach. The writer merely uses rankings, and ignores context like going from a 3-4 the last couple decades to a 4-3. They're different players, and different schemes which takes more than during the first year to accomplish. It's also his rookie year as a HC so expecting him to be a finished product as a HC is also laughable. Too many people look at outcomes and demand results without looking at how those outcomes came to be, and adjusting accordingly.  

[Biggs]

3 hours ago, Bungaman said:

^This. According to this criteria, Lombardi, Walsh, Landry, Knoll, Madden, et. al. should have been axed immediately after their first year.

And Kelly is doing exactly what now to earn a living? His skill set has landed him where?

The other side of that coin is every Jets HC since Weeb and after Parcells should have been fired after their first year.  

 

[The Crusher]

2 hours ago, bitonti said:

We can attack the source all day but bottom line is that Saleh had the worst defense in franchise history. That's no good. All the excuses about injuries or whatever, he's supposed to be a defensive coach. 

He’s the head coach, I’m not comfortable blaming him for the crappy defense without also blaming for the crappy offense. That’s just me, you do you.