New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh often gets tossed softball questions
New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh knows full well what the media reports about him and the team.
That much became obvious in the most recent episode of Hard Knocks. Giants general manager Joe Schoen went over potential topics with a member of the team’s staff. There’s no doubt that other teams do this, as well.
This will go under the radar but a nice insight into some of the media prep ahead of the combine press conferences from Hard Knocks. Giants GM Joe Schoen and their Senior Director of Football Communications
Dion Dargin going over potential topics. pic.twitter.com/sYTH5F7mqi— Nick Jacobs (@Jacobs71) July 10, 2024
Unfortunately, the questions transmitted to coaches and general managers are often softballs, even in the New York media. Even if they were good questions, though, Saleh would be unlikely to answer candidly. He can’t.
Still, here are the top 10 questions I’d love to ask Coach Saleh in a setting where he would answer without obfuscation.
Why did you pursue Javon Kinlaw and Leki Fotu?
Saleh said the Jets got bigger in the middle by signing Javon Kinlaw and Leki Fotu. However, bigger isn’t necessarily better. Nor is more athletic. Kinlaw is objectively a downgrade from Quinton Jefferson as a pass rusher and will likely replace his role. The same applies to Fotu and Al Woods. What was the thought process here in terms of upgrading the defense?
In general, why does Saleh pursue former 49ers who underachieved?
Accordingly, if Leonard Taylor makes the team, will he have anything more than a nominal role? Or does he have a chance for an expanded role due to the general lack of pass-rushing prowess in the room?
Why do you play even your best defensive players in such a strict rotation?
No other team plays its best players as little as the Jets do. Quinnen Williams’ 69% snap count in 2023 was a career-high and in line with several other elite defensive tackles, such as Chris Jones (73%), Dexter Lawrence (67%), Justin Madubuike (65%), and DeForest Buckner (72%).
Still, Jermaine Johnson, the Jets’ best two-way edge rusher, played 66% of the snaps in 2023 — a team-high but also significantly lower than Haason Reddick (74%), George Karlaftis (75%), Bradley Chubb (81%), and Alex Highsmith (81%) — players whose caliber is not that much higher than Johnson’s. Bryce Huff remained at a 42% snap count despite his elite pass rush.
Even John Franklin-Myers’ 55% snap count was very low for the usage the Jets could have gotten out of him. Their refusal to use him as an interior pass rusher except on obvious passing downs (especially when they had the poor run defender Solomon Thomas play on first and second down) was hard to understand.
In fact, Huff and Franklin-Myers are likely not with the Jets anymore for this precise reason. I’d love to ask Saleh what his thought process is here.
Does the narrow window the Jets have with Aaron Rodgers make you worry about the team’s future and yours as head coach?
When the Jets acquired Aaron Rodgers, he had all but committed to multiple years with the team. He still says he wants to play more than just one year, but how he performs in 2024 will likely impact how he feels at the end of the season. That means the Jets’ window to win is very narrow.
Does Saleh worry about his future with the Jets? Even if he’s confident they’ll be a good team this season, everything past 2024 is unknown. Even if he does remain the coach, it will be difficult to start from scratch at quarterback, tackle, wide receiver, No. 2 cornerback, safety, and tight end. Does he ever think that far ahead?
What was your true reaction to the bombshell reports about the team that surfaced at the end of the last two seasons?
It must have been highly frustrating for Saleh to have leaks come out about the internal strife over Zach Wilson in 2022 and then him, Nathaniel Hackett, Joe Douglas, and Wilson in 2023. I wonder what Saleh’s immediate reaction to the reports was and how much of it was actually true from his perspective.
I’d also love to ask Douglas how his reputation for keeping a lock on internal news tracks with these leaks.
How involved are you in talent evaluation? What’s the team’s process for assessing free agents and draft picks?
Does Saleh just trust his scouts, or does he do his own film work? Does he ask for certain free agents?
What does your increased involvement in the offense look like? Does your defensive background help at all?
You’d think that a coach so involved in defensive scheming could help an offense figure out how to beat that scheming. That’s why it’s strange Saleh wasn’t more involved in the offense in the first place. Does he feel burdened for being forced to do it rather than being able to rely on his offensive coordinator? Does he think Rodgers will solve everything?
Did you really want to sign Allen Lazard and Nathaniel Hackett, or did you do it just to get Rodgers?
Not that he’d ever admit it, but Nathaniel Hackett and Allen Lazard were so bad last year that you wonder if Saleh wanted them to begin with. Was it just his infatuation with Rodgers that led him and Douglas to bring on whomever Rodgers would want?
How much do you pay attention to analytics?
The answer to this question from the outside seems to be “not at all.” Saleh is an old-school coach in many ways. Does he pay attention to the deeper numbers at all? How much does it guide his fourth-down strategy and approach to game-planning?
How long did it take you to realize that Zach Wilson was a bust?
It seems like Saleh may not have been sold on Zach Wilson from the get-go. How did he deal with drafting a quarterback he was so unsure of? How long did it take him to realize that his fears were valid? Was he sure Wilson wouldn’t pan out before his rookie season, during it, after, or not until mid-2022? Did he really believe the Jets could reset Wilson or was he forced to say that because Woody Johnson wouldn’t give up on his investment?
When you lambasted the offensive line on Hard Knocks, did you worry about how the season would pan out?
Heading into 2023 training camp, it should have been obvious to all observers that the Jets’ offensive line would be a major problem. They came in expecting the 38-year-old Duane Brown, not yet recovered from shoulder surgery, and either Max Mitchell or Billy Turner to be their tackles, as well as the heavily underachieving Laken Tomlinson to return at guard.
Saleh reamed the line for their ineptitude on Hard Knocks. But did he think the team could still be successful with that level of dysfunction in their blocking? Does he think it was just Rodgers’ injury that caused their losses?
Jets fans, what questions would you want to ask Saleh?
