Robert Saleh returning as Jets coach, and he's taking a lot of lessons with him from 2023 season
Head coach Robert Saleh of the New York Jets reacts in the first half against the Washington Commanders at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 24, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Robert Saleh is still living in the moment, trying to prepare the Jets to play the Browns on Thursday. But this latest lost season has produced some lessons that Saleh will take into next year.
Saleh and Jets general manager Joe Douglas will be back in 2024. It became news on Christmas Eve, but Saleh said Jets principal owner Woody Johnson already had told him he would return.
There was never really much doubt. The overwhelming feeling in the Jets’ offices was that they were building something and that losing Aaron Rodgers four snaps into the season derailed what could have been a special year.
“I speak with Woody every day. Joe speaks with Woody every day,” Saleh said during a Christmas Day Zoom call. “Just the language and the conversations, he obviously challenges us every day. But just through all those conversations, they’re all fruitful, I guess you could say, in terms of language and where this organization is going and the things that we need to do to progress and be better for ’24.
“I’m only focused on the moment. We’re wired that way as coaches, but Woody has never wavered on his support for us and the things we’re trying to get done.”
The Jets improved to 6-9 with their 30-28 victory over Washington on Sunday. They squandered a 20-point second-half lead and needed a 54-yard field goal from Greg Zuerlein with five seconds left to escape with the win.
Victories have been hard to come by for the Jets. They’ve used a revolving door at quarterback that has not been effective. Four quarterbacks have started this season — Rodgers, Zach Wilson, Tim Boyle and Trevor Siemian (the last time that happened for the Jets was in 1989).
The Jets put all of their eggs in the Rodgers basket and couldn’t recover after he tore his left Achilles tendon. Had they done more to improve their quarterback room, the offensive line and the receivers, they might have had a more successful season.
“When you have a Hall of Fame quarterback, you’re going to build it around his strengths — period,” Saleh said. “That’s a very common theme throughout the league, it’s not just a Jets thing. That’s league-wide.
“But could we have done things better, and I’m talking about myself and the coaching staff with regards to ‘all right, here’s our worst-case scenario, now what?’ Absolutely. It’s something that we’ll make sure we do a heck of a lot better in ’24.”
The returning Jets regime knows it has to shore up the quarterback room with a proven veteran to back up the 40-year-old Rodgers, overhaul the offensive line and upgrade the receiving corps so they don’t have a repeat of this season.
Inside the locker room after Sunday’s win, players were not surprised to hear that Johnson had made it official that Saleh and Douglas will be back. And they were happy.
“I would definitely love to be able to be in the system again for another year and build on what we have here,” tight end Tyler Conklin said. “There’s a lot of things that have happened to us this year. It’s not an excuse to lose. I’d like to think from a culture standpoint, the way we do things, to be together for another year gives us the best opportunity next year to get to the playoffs and do what we need to do.”
The Jets will not be participating in the postseason for the 13th consecutive year — the longest active streak in sports.
When Saleh was hired three years ago, he said the Jets would win more than one championship. They are 17-32 during his reign. But he’ll have another shot, with a healthy Rodgers, to get closer to that vision.
“It’s been a grind,” Saleh said. “Everybody closes their eyes and imagines success right away, but we knew there was going to be a process. We all felt great coming into this year with all the expectations and hype that surrounded the football team, and that was awesome. It hasn’t gone the way we wanted, obviously. It doesn’t mean that the goal of winning championships is over.
“I still believe we’ve got a really good football team. I’ve said it before, we’ve built a championship roster. There’s a lot of things that we’ve learned through adversity over the last three months since Aaron’s injury that will help us.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
