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Robert Saleh had a message for the Jets players on Thursday: it will be the pedal to metal around his team.
“Get used to the mantra: all the gas, no brakes,” Saleh said during his introductory Zoom press conference. “When we talk about all gas and no brakes, we are not talking about effort on the ground. We are talking about the process in which we do things. We talk about how we prepare, how we wake up each morning, how we readjust, how we communicate, how we talk to each other.
Saleh, 41, spoke about his vision for the Jets a week after agreeing to become the team’s new head coach. He hasn’t hammered the table or guaranteed the Lombardi trophies, but has delivered a clear message on what he expects and how he intends to achieve it. There will be no memes mocking him after this press conference.
“We have a lot of work to do, but don’t get confused that our goal is to win championships,” Saleh said.
The Jets hired Saleh after interviewing at least nine candidates. The team practically spoke to him first, then invited him for an in-person interview a few days later in New Jersey. The team leaders had heard rave reviews of Saleh before they met him and were then impressed when they spoke to him.
“When we met Robert, I was struck by his presence,” said Christopher Johnson, CEO and team chairman. “He showed an ability to engage with us in a virtual interview. He also clearly communicated a vision for this team that matches our own. When we met in person, it validated everything we thought after our first meeting. Robert has shown through his journey here that he is a leader, a leader who will engage the whole team and partner with [general manager] Joe [Douglas] to continue to build the culture of a winning organization.
“His character and his passion are what this team needs.”
Saleh takes over a team that has been one of the worst in the NFL in recent years. The Jets have the longest NFL playoff drought in 10 seasons. They have had five consecutive years of defeat. The team went 2-14 in 2020. Now Saleh will be the last coach trying to make Jets winners.
“It will take time, but everything we do will be designed to win championships in the future,” said Saleh, who has spent the past four seasons as the 49ers defensive coordinator. “When we talk about gasoline, no brakes and that mindset, waking up in the morning, stepping on the pedal and having that state of mind, go back to bed better than you woke up. This is the state of mind that we are going to have and we are very confident that it will lead to the championships.
Douglas said Saleh ticked all the boxes for the Jets, who highlighted leadership in this search. Looks like the Jets ticked a lot of boxes for Saleh as well. Saleh, from Michigan, interviewed six of the seven teams that had job openings in this cycle. But he said he felt a real connection to Johnson, Douglas and team president Hymie Elhai when they first met.
“It was like being at home,” Saleh said. “I felt like I was back home talking to my high school friends. It’s home. “
Saleh was inspired to become a trainer after his brother, David, escaped the South Tower on September 11. Saleh realized he couldn’t wait to pursue his coaching dream. He sees greater meaning for him by now becoming the coach of the Jets.
“I’m supposed to be here and I believe it,” Saleh said. “God does things for a reason and I believe that is one of them.”
In order to be a leader of the whole team, Saleh will not call defensive plays. He’ll leave that to defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, who is from the Falcons Jets. Adam Gase has often been criticized for being too focused on the offense. Saleh believes that not calling the games will free him up for other tasks.
“Being able to focus on all aspects of a game, maintaining our vision and maintaining the level that we’re playing is kind of the role that I see a head coach take on,” Saleh said.
Saleh said he contacted all of the Jets players by text message and overheard some of them via text messages and calls, and he met a few who were receiving medical attention at Jets headquarters.
He stressed how integral his relationship with the players will be.
“I believe that the investment coaches make in players should be equivalent to the investment you put into your children,” said Saleh, a father of six with another child on the way. “You have to invest everything you have in your heart and soul in these players because they are counting on you to help them do their best so they can show their skills on Sunday.”
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