[ad_1]
As Robert Saleh has said he plans to inject a clear identity into every aspect of the Jets, the team officially announced on Thursday the bulk of the staff who will support him as he enters his first season as head coach. of an NFL team.
Several of the assistants have ties to the San Francisco 49ers, whose defense has thrived with Saleh as coordinator for the past four years. The Jets’ defense, ranked 26th for points allocated in 2020, will be led by Jeff Ulbrich, who was promoted to co-defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons this season after having been a linebacker coach since 2015.
Ulbrich spent his entire playing career with the 49ers, as a linebacker from 2000 to 2009, and when he was an assistant special team coach with the Seattle Seahawks he worked with Saleh during the 2011 season. Saleh has said that unlike some former coordinators when they became head coaches, he would leave defensive play by calling Ulbrich and take more of a supervisory role.
As Saleh, 41, tries to end the Jets’ 10-year streak of no playoff appearances, the question of whether to stick with quarterback Sam Darnold, the choice No. 3 in the 2018 draft, is important. Saleh on Thursday declined to discuss whether the team plans to use their No.2 pick in this spring’s draft on another young quarterback or possibly try to trade for Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans, who was reportedly decommissioned after hiring the team. a new general manager without his consultation.
Saleh offered a glowing review of Darnold’s arm and said: “He’s fearless in the pocket, he has a natural throwing motion, he’s mobile, he’s extremely intelligent,” adding that “his reputation in the locker room is undisputed. . ” Still, he stopped before guaranteeing the team would keep Darnold as a starter for the coming season.
“We’re just bringing the staff into the building, so there’s so much we need to do from an evaluation standpoint in terms of the entire roster and not just a quarterback,” Saleh said during of his first press conference as head coach. “Giving you that answer now wouldn’t be fair.”
New offensive coordinatorMike LaFleur will come from the 49ers staff, as will John Benton, offensive line coach and running game coordinator. Greg Knapp, the Jets’ new passing specialist, recently worked with the Atlanta Falcons, but started his NFL coaching career in San Francisco in the 1990s and straddled Saleh on the team. Texans in 2010. Rob Calabrese, who recently worked with the Denver Broncos, will be the new quarterbacks coach.
The 2020 Jets offense was the league’s worst in most categories under Adam Gase, who left the team 9-23 in his two years. Saleh’s hope is to make the Jets ‘offense reflect the 49ers’ system perfected under coach Kyle Shanahan.
“There’s going to be a clear identity of what we’re trying to accomplish on the offensive side of the ball, the defensive side of the ball and special teams, for that matter,” Saleh said.
Saleh said the team’s philosophy will be “all gas, no brakes,” a phrase he also used when he introduced himself as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator.
“He has consistently demonstrated his ability to innovate, motivate and collaborate,” said Christopher Johnson, who was president of the Jets for four years, of Saleh. “His character and his passion are what this team needs.”
Johnson will also take on a new role with the Jets as vice president, allowing his brother, Woody, to reclaim the ruling place as principal owner. Woody Johnson had been Ambassador to the UK since 2017 during the Trump administration; Christopher Johnson said his brother was returning to the United States on Thursday.
[ad_2]
Source link