He identified his mantra as “All Gas, No Brake” and, for a franchise that has too often been a broken green and white jalopia stranded on a road to hell, Robert Saleh appears as the right driver for the right time.
Rejoice, Jets fans:
Robert Saleh is, unintentionally disrespectful, the anti-Adam Gase.
The Jets did not hire Saleh to coach Sam Darnold, or Deshaun Watson, or Justin Fields, or Zach Wilson, or whoever is the quarterback of the 2021 Jets yet to be determined, and brought him to a level of elite. He was hired to coach the entire damn team.
Co-owner Christopher Johnson emphasized the whole word when he said:
“Robert has shown through his journey here that he is a leader, that he will involve the whole team and that he will relate [general manager] Joe [Douglas] continue to build the culture of a winning organization. “
Robert Saleh is a passionate man with a plan and a vision of a franchise that desperately needs a winning identity, professionalism and culture.
He is a man who values authenticity, accountability and humility.
He was hired because he is a leader of men.
He was hired to build relationships and connect with players in a way that Gase never did, or couldn’t do.
There’s a reason the 49ers players swore they’d run down a wall for him.
“There will be an investment that will be made in each other,” Saleh said, “coaches for players, players for coaches, organization for everyone, and there is an investment that will be reciprocal … the whole what we do will be designed to win championships in the future. “
Each new head coach aspires to win championships. Some address it, others don’t when they show up, and Saleh will know soon enough that Jets fans will sell their souls to the devil for a single championship, the first since Super Bowl III, so let’s press the pause button.
Todd Bowles moved the Super Bowl Trophy from the front lobby of the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center to the players ’lobby. His mantra (A team, a goal) was displayed everywhere. He never made the playoffs in his four years.
Gasejar? He rummaged backstage over the signing of Le’Veon Bell. He greased the skates for Mike Maccagnan, the GM who was instrumental in hiring him, prompting Johnson to wait until the free agency and project to fire him and hire Douglas as GM.
“Everyone is communicating, there’s a collaboration, there’s the feeling that everyone has their back and there’s a sense of family,” Saleh said.
Gase seemed to put all his eggs in Darnold’s basket, in large part because the Jets had invested heavily in their young franchised quarterback.
For Saleh, everyone will be Darnold. O Watson. The Camps. O Wilson.
“I think the investment that coaches make in players should be the equivalent of the investment you make in your kids,” Saleh said.
The man knows this: his seventh child will have to leave in April.
“You have to invest everything you have in your heart and soul in these players,” Saleh said, “because they trust you to help them be the best they can be so they can show off their skills on Sunday.” … When you become personal, you become very, very, very special. … When people invest in each other, you connect on a personal level, and when that personal connection is made, you just feel like it’s a responsibility not to let that person down. “
Saleh was not hired to give his defensive coordinator, Jeff Ulbrich, the kind of authority over defense that Gase gave to Gregg Williams, who blessed his heart Cover Zero. Saleh will be the CEO of the Jets, with Ulbrich as the defensive player on game day and Mike LaFleur as the offensive player. Like Joe Judge is the CEO of the Giants, with Jason Garrett as the offensive player and Pat Graham as the defender.
“This is an organization that has to work in close arms and work together,” Saleh said.
He is the right man to fly the Jets and get them off the tarmac of misery, though he acknowledges that taking flight will take time during a rebuilding process.
“You can’t hide from the past,” Saleh said.
He just won’t look back.
“I promise you’ll love what you see,” Saleh said.
Dearborn, Mich., Is the very close-knit community where Saleh learned about living together. He is the first coach in the Muslim NFL and should be proud. In this world, it also forces you to be comfortable on your skin.
“In times of adversity, your true character will always be revealed,” Saleh said.
He has made comparisons with one of his mentors, Pete Carroll, the Dale Carnegie of NFL coaches. But Saleh will be her own man.
“To answer your question about how I will be, I will be like me,” Saleh said.
The anti-gas.
Rejoice, Jets fans.