New York Jets HC Robert Saleh’s most eye-popping stats

Robert Saleh's fiery energy pops out, but the amount of production that he squeezed out of the 49ers defense is just as impressive. All-time great passing game dominance in 2019 In 2019, Robert Saleh captained the San Francisco 49ers to one of the best defensive seasons in modern NFL history, just two years after taking over a unit that ranked 32nd in scoring defense the season prior to his arrival. Finishing second in defensive DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) behind only another historically great defense in the Patriots, San Francisco was particularly unbeatable in the passing game. The 49ers allowed a league-low 169.2 passing yards per game in 2019. That mark was 65.8 yards below the 2019 league average (235.0) - the best margin by any defense in the 21st century. Every level of the 49ers defense was elite in coverage. San Francisco allowed the fewest receiving yards per game to tight ends (34.5), second-fewest receiving yards per game to running backs (24.9), and fourth-fewest receiving yards per game to wide receivers (130.3). Altogether, San Francisco also led the league in fewest yards per pass attempt allowed (5.9), fewest net yards per pass attempt allowed (4.9), and fewest yards per completion allowed (9.7). Their defense was extremely adept at making plays on the football, recording a pass breakup on 14.5% of opponent pass attempts, tied for second-best in the league. This unit stands as one of the most effective pass defenses the league has ever seen. Overcoming obstacles to achieve massive success in 2020 Saleh's 2019 season was magnificent, but his 2020 season may have been even better considering what he had to fight through. The pool of talent that made up San Francisco's unbelievable 2019 unit was drained in 2020. Star interior defensive lineman DeForest Buckner was traded to Indianapolis before the season. Four projected key players - Nick Bosa, Dee Ford, Solomon Thomas, Richard Sherman - combined to play only 10 games out of a possible 64. Bosa is perhaps the unit's best player, and he played only one full game before Trevon Wesco and the MetLife Stadium turf ended his season in Week 2. It did not stop there. Starting safety Jaquiski Tartt played seven games. Starting cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon played nine. Slot corner K'Waun Williams played eight. Cornerbacks Jamar Taylor and Emmanuel Moseley played seven and 12, respectively. Edge rusher Ezekiel Ansah - a high-upside potential fill-in for Bosa and Thomas - played two games. Altogether, the 49ers had only three defensive players appear in all 16 games. They only had four appear in at least 15 and seven appear in at least 14. Of the 49ers' top 15 most-used defensive players in terms of total snaps during the 2019 regular season, only seven of them ranked top-15 on the team in defensive snaps this past season. Despite all of that, Saleh still led the 49ers to sixth in defensive DVOA, fifth in fewest total yards per game allowed and fourth in defensive EPA (estimated points added). Absolutely incredible. Developing young talent Plenty of young players enjoyed significant progress under Saleh. The best example of development during Saleh's time in the Bay Area is linebacker Fred Warner. A 2018 third-round pick out of BYU, Warner had a solid first couple of seasons before breaking out into a superstar in 2020, earning the best overall Pro Football Focus grade (88.6) at his position. Dre Greenlaw, a 2019 fifth-round pick out of Arkansas, has been asked to take on a huge role early in his career, playing 1,579 defensive snaps over 32 regular season and playoff games (25 starts) throughout his first two seasons. And, he has mostly delivered - especially in the passing game. Over his career, Greenlaw has allowed only 6.1 yards per target and has given up just two touchdown passes over 849 snaps in coverage. Saleh is a former linebackers coach, so one would assume that is the position where he was most hands-on with the 49ers. This makes the development of Greenlaw and Warner reflect tremendously on Saleh's coaching ability. The development did not stop at linebacker. Jimmie Ward, a 2014 first-round pick out of Northern Illinois, was a solid player before Saleh's arrival, but he has really taken off since Saleh came in. After playing only half of his possible games over Saleh's first two years in San Francisco, Ward has stayed healthy and become a stud over the past two years. His 2019 PFF grade of 84.2 ranked sixth among safeties, while his 2019 grade of 73.5 ranked 13th. Those are the two best marks of his seven-year career. Jaquiski Tartt, a 2015 second-round pick out of Samford, saw his production skyrocket once Saleh entered the building. Throughout his two seasons prior to Saleh, Tartt allowed a horrendous 10.5 yards per target. Over his four seasons with Saleh, Tartt has allowed an excellent average of 6.6 yards per target. He allowed the 10th-fewest yards per cover snap among safeties in 2020 (0.30). DeForest Buckner, San Francisco's 2016 first-round pick out of Oregon, exploded once Saleh came in. Buckner had a highly promising rookie year with 48 pressures and a 71.6 PFF grade, but once Saleh arrived in 2017, Buckner surpassed 50 pressures and an 80.0 PFF grade in each of his three seasons under Saleh. Nick Bosa was obviously expected to be great as the No. 2 overall pick in 2019, but Saleh deserves credit for helping him become an instant star, as Bosa ranked sixth among edge rushers with 80 pressures in his rookie season. Veteran resurgences In addition to developing young talent, Saleh also did a great job of helping veteran players continue to find success late in their careers. Looking at the 2020 season, no player exemplifies this aspect of Saleh's resume better than cornerback Jason Verrett. A 2014 first-rounder of the Chargers, Verrett showed superstar potential over his first two seasons until he began dealing with chronic injury issues. He played only six games from 2016-19. At 29 years old in 2020, Verrett finally stayed healthy, playing 13 games, and he looked fantastic. Verrett allowed only 0.82 yards per cover snap, 10th-best among the 85 cornerbacks to play at least 300 cover snaps. His overall PFF grade of 77.6 ranked eighth among cornerbacks. Richard Sherman came to the 49ers at 30 years old in 2018 and continued to thrive. He had a rough 2018 season, allowing a career-high 9.1 yards per target, but over the past two seasons, Sherman has been as good as ever. He allowed the fewest yards per cover snap among cornerbacks with at least 300 coverage snaps in 2019 (0.44). In 2020, Sherman was equally stingy with only 0.43 yards allowed per cover snap, second-best at the position if we cut the qualifier down to 200 cover snaps so we can include Sherman's injury-shortened season, Seventh-year defensive end Kerry Hyder (who spent the 2014 season on the Jets' practice squad) had a career resurgence at 29 years old in 2020. After posting only 35 pressures over 23 games over the previous three seasons, Hyder tied his career-high with 55 pressures in 2020, tied for 13th-most among edge rushers. He also posted career-highs in pressure rate (12.6%), total stops (31) and overall PFF grade (68.6). Hyder, Sherman and Verrett are unrestricted free agents. Could we see a reunion or two in Jersey?