New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh is expected to hire Mike LaFleur, John Benton and Greg Knapp on the offensive side of the ball.
Robert Saleh is expected to bring over at least a couple of San Francisco 49ers offensive coaches with him to New York, according to Michael Silver.
New Jets coach Robert Saleh is taking two Niners offensive assistants: passing game coordinator Mike LaFleur (as OC) and OL coach John Benton (as OL coach/run game coordinator)…
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) January 18, 2021
The newest New York Jets head coach, 41, heads east as a defensive-first mind. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll call the game with a defensive-first attitude—i.e. Rex Ryan and Todd Bowles—but who he considers offensively looms large.
Rumors have run rampant that 49ers pass game coordinator Mike LaFleur will be named Jets offensive coordinator. Along with LaFleur, Silver also mentioned John Benton as the offensive line coach, Greg Knapp as the quarterbacks coach and Rob Calabrese as a passing game specialist.
Two other members of Saleh's staff: Greg Knapp as QB coach, Rob Calabrese as pass game specialist.
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) January 18, 2021
Mike McDaniel’s name surfaced quite a bit shortly after the Jets tagged Saleh as their next head man. It appears McDaniel will stay put in San Francisco with a promotion as the team’s offensive coordinator. (Previously, there had been no official offensive coordinator with head coach Kyle Shanahan representing the clear offensive boss.)
Meanwhile, Niners run game coordinator Mike McDaniel has been offered the OC position by HC Kyle Shanahan and will likely accept. Chris Foerster will replace Benton as OL coach. Rich Scangarello comes back as QB coach.
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) January 18, 2021
LaFleur, 34, is the little brother of Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. He’s been with Shanahan since 2014 when he served as a Cleveland Browns offensive intern. LaFleur followed Shanahan to Atlanta in 2015 where they lost a Super Bowl, and then to San Francisco in 2017 where they’d ultimately lose another Super Bowl two seasons later.
Benton was also a part of the Niners coaching staff under Shanahan. Knapp, on the other hand, is coming from Atlanta, where he served as the Falcons quarterbacks coach for the last three seasons. He was previously with the Denver Broncos in the same position from 2013 to 2016, helping Peyton Manning and Gary Kubiak win a Super Bowl.
Knapp’s NFL coaching career started with the Niners in 1997. He moved his way from offensive quality control coach to quarterbacks coach, eventually landing the offensive coordinator job while working under Steve Mariucci.
Constructing a coaching staff is just as critical as putting together the roster and a head coach is only as good as his staff’s weakest link. Robert Saleh’s current goal is to put together the best staff possible as the NFL’s January coaching movement hits its peak.
