Jets coach Robert Saleh looking to 'reconnect' the dots

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- QuarterbackAaron Rodgers' season-ending play in 2023 lasted six seconds, from snap to Achilles rupture, but it produced ripples that continued long after that season-opening game against theBuffalo Bills.

Looking back, New York Jets coach Robert Saleh said the season "probably got a little out of whack" -- his way of saying he could've done a better job of handling the adversity. The Jets were portrayed as a dysfunctional team, dictated by a certain Malibu, California, resident who provided a running commentary in his weekly spots on "The Pat McAfee Show."

"Last year, there was a lot of chaos, right?" Saleh said, admitting he was "trying to control things" that were out of his control.

Head coaches evolve and learn from their mistakes. The good ones do, anyway. Saleh, who told confidantes after last season that he considered it "a blessing" to get a reprieve from ownership, is determined to prove his coaching chops in Year 4.

Saleh's future Hall of Fame quarterback is back and healthy after four snaps in 2023, his roster is formidable and his approach is different than in years past. Knowing this is a make-or-break season for him, Saleh is trying to focus on the meat and potatoes of his job, eliminating the side dishes.

To describe this shift, he likes to use the word "reconnect," as in: He's making a concerted effort to "reconnect to Xs and Os" and the parts of football that made him fall in love with coaching.

Fittingly, the new Saleh will reconnect with his past in Week 1, as the Jets face the defending NFC Champion San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium for "Monday Night Football." He was 49ers defensive coordinator from 2017 to 2020, becoming a hot coaching candidate when the Jets hired him in 2021.

He arrived with a glow, an unmistakable bravado, predicting multiple Super Bowls for a championship-starved franchise. Then the "Same Old Jets" reality hit.

"To grow in the world, to grow as an individual, you have to live in uncomfortable environments, and I would say last year was one of the more uncomfortable environments that you could create for an organization," Saleh said. "Because of it, I think our players, coaches, everybody in this building are better for it."

ARGUABLY THE NFL'S most hyped team in 2023, the Jets (sans Rodgers) were like "Titanic" -- a long, slow, inevitable sink, with plenty of drama along the way. They finished 7-10, extending the league's longest active playoff drought to 13 years.

It was a bizarre season because, amid the disappointment, there were embers of hope. That they won seven games with subpar quarterback play (a league-low 23.4 QBR) was a testament to the defense, special teams and Saleh, who kept the team together. Of the 26 teams since 2012 that averaged fewer than 17 points per game in a season, the 2023 Jets (15.8) compiled the best winning percentage (.412).

No one wants membership in that fraternity, but at least it showed the Jets weren't a lost cause. Still, that didn't stop owner Woody Johnson from railing, telling reporters the results -- on offense, in particular -- made him "about as mad as I can be."

"We've got all this talent, and we've got to deploy talent properly," Johnson said. "I think they all got the message. This is it. This is the time to go. We've got to produce this year."

Translation: Major changes loom if the Jets fail to make the playoffs. It puts immense pressure on Saleh, whose job security after last season was bolstered by a public endorsement from Rodgers. Asked if he views this as a now-or-never season, Saleh said that's always the case.

"You're hanging by a thread no matter what year you were hired," Saleh said. "It could be Year 1, Year 10, Year 20. You're always hanging by a thread, and all it takes is one bad year and you're shown the door."

Saleh's record is 18-33 (.353), the fourth-worst winning percentage among the 18 full-time coaches in franchise history. He's ahead of Adam Gase (9-23, .281), Lou Holtz (3-10, .231) and Rich Kotite (4-28, .125). Leaguewide, Saleh is the ninth coach since 1990 to get a fourth season after starting with three losing ones.

Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells famously said, "You are what your record says you are." That said, even Saleh's harshest critics have to admit he's had the worst luck with quarterbacks -- two years with draft disappointment Zach Wilson as the starter, then one year of QB roulette (with Wilson) in the aftermath of the Rodgers injury.

By his own admission, Saleh got sidetracked amid the losing, trying to control the narrative surrounding his team. Many years ago, Parcells got distracted by the negativity during his first season as theNew York Giants' coach in 1983, and it nearly cost him his job. A call from Raiders owner Al Davis, a friend, set him straight.

"He chewed my ass out, but it's the best advice I ever got," Parcells told ESPN. "I give this advice to every guy I ever worked with who went on to be a head coach: Just coach the team. Best advice ever. Don't get sidetracked, just coach your team. And if you win, that will take care of everything else."

Parcells, who also coached the Jets, understands the pressure to win in New York. The intensity, he said, is relentless, adding that it's easy for coaches to get distracted.

SALEH REACHED OUT to mentors after last season and did some soul-searching, formulating ways to tweak his approach.

He's more involved in the offense than ever before. He attends meetings, bringing a defensive perspective to the room. During training camp, he stayed mostly on the offensive side of the field.

This could be perceived as a slight toward embattled offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, but Hackett said it's "absolutely fantastic. It's been really great to have him around." Saleh said he enjoys it, joking, "If I have a second life in football, I want to come back as an offensive guy. They've got it made."

They learned a hard lesson last season about the offense, making it so Rodgers-centric that it was difficult to adjust when Wilson was pressed into the lineup. This time, the coaches have tried to make the system universally friendly, adding new wrinkles along the way.

Mindful of the team's high injury rate, Saleh ran his hardest training camp, opting for old-school conditioning over modern load management. By his count, the starters ran about 800 plays in camp, about a 30% increase from 2023.

Players said it was the most taxing camp they'd experienced in years. Linebacker Quincy Williams said it reminded him of his college days at Murray State, when he had to be up by 5:30 a.m. to get ready for practice.

Saleh said the goal wasn't to revisit the "Junction Boys," a reference to Bear Bryant's legendarily brutal camp at Texas A&M in the 1950s, but he also didn't want "this country club style that's kind of taking on all of sport." He said he wanted to "reconnect" the players with how they used to prepare. There's that word again.

Saleh is fixated on injury prevention, noting how the players have a carefully planned daily regimen. He won't reveal details, but we know this much: The program is so nuanced that his "bigs" -- offensive and defensive linemen -- are excused from the early part of team stretching and warmups so they can spend an extra 35 minutes in the weight room. The idea is to keep them off their feet for as long as possible, focusing on strength and conditioning and reducing wear and tear.

The team's approach, Saleh said, is more business-like than the run-up to last season, which was dominated by Rodgers Mania, the filming of the television series "Hard Knocks" and huge expectations. This time, the coach is trying to make it all about football, even cutting down on media exposure. The message is clear to the entire locker room.

"We either win, go to the playoffs and have a successful season or everybody's probably not going to be back here," tight end Tyler Conklin said. "I think everybody kind of knows that. I think Saleh is probably going out there and doing what he thinks is best for this team and kind of doing it his way. I mean, that's what I would do."