For the third time in 5 years, the Jacksonville Jaguars are trying to find a brand new head coach.
Massive Cat Nation’s Jaguars head coach hiring course of tracker is continually being up to date — however to offer extra info on the highest candidates being interviewed, we’ll be releasing in-depth profiles all through the search.
Different head coach candidate profiles:
Subsequent up: Robert Saleh, who interviewed with the Jaguars on January 14th.
Picture by Justin Ford/Getty Pictures
Expertise
Saleh performed tight finish at Northern Michigan, the place he graduated with a level in finance in 2000. He took a well-paying desk job at Comerica Financial institution, however when his brother narrowly survived the terrible occasions of Sept. 11, 2001, Saleh discovered the motivation to pursue his ardour.
He started his teaching profession as an assistant at Michigan State in 2002. He switched from tight ends coach to defensive position coach in 2003, then was employed for the latter place at Central Michigan at 2004, then was employed to teach linebackers at Georgia in 2005.
Saleh made it to the league in 2005 when the Texans employed him as a defensive intern. He turned defensive high quality management coach a 12 months later, and have become assistant linebackers coach three years after that.
Saleh’s profession actually took off when the Seahawks employed him as their defensive high quality management coach in 2011. In Seattle, Saleh helped Pete Caroll construct the “Legion of Increase” protection and win Tremendous Bowl XLVIII. The Jaguars employed then-Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley as their new head coach in 2013 and Saleh adopted him to be linebackers coach. Underneath his watch, Telvin Smith made a second-team All-Professional crew and the “Sacksonville” protection led the Jaguars to an AFC Championship recreation look.
When he wasn’t retained by Doug Marrone in 2017, Saleh turned 49ers defensive coordinator in 2017. The primary two years have been tough as he and Kyle Shanahan rebuilt the roster, however from 2019 to 2020, the Niners protection ranked first in whole yards allowed.
Saleh then received his shot as an NFL head coach when he took over the Jets in 2021. Once more, there was a gradual begin — however from 2022 to 2024, the Jets protection ranked first in whole yards allowed.
New York fired Saleh after Week 5 of the 2024 season. Regardless of nice defensive metrics, the Jets weren’t profitable sufficient ball video games as a result of the offense was a complete mess. From Zach Wilson to Aaron Rodgers and each NPC in between, no quarterback allowed the crew to play complimentary.
Saleh served as an offensive guide with the Packers for the rest of the season.
Because the 2021 season, Robert Saleh’s first in New York, the Jets protection is
1st in factors per drive
1st in EPA per play
third in success charge…regardless of enjoying the fourth-most snaps over that stretch.
Saleh by no means solved the QB drawback, however man. He delivered on protection.
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) October 8, 2024
Efficiency
2023 Jets protection
- Factors per recreation allowed: 20.9 (twelfth)
- First downs per recreation allowed: 17.5 (2nd)
- Yards per recreation allowed: 292.3 (third)
- Yards per play allowed: 4.6 (2nd)
- EPA per play allowed: -0.11 (third)
- Success charge allowed: 37.8% (2nd)
Passing protection
- Whole touchdowns allowed: 19 (4th)
- First downs per recreation allowed: 8.8 (2nd)
- Yards per recreation allowed: 168.3 (2nd)
- Yards per try allowed: 6.1 (4th)
- EPA per play allowed: -0.097 (4th)
- Success charge allowed: 39.7% (third)
Speeding protection
- Whole touchdowns allowed: 14 (eleventh)
- First downs per recreation allowed: 6.5 (twenty first)
- Yards per recreation allowed: 124.0 (twenty fifth)
- Yards per try allowed: 4.1 (14th)
- EPA per play allowed: -0.127 (ninth)
- Success charge allowed: 35.2% (4th)
Situational protection
- Early down EPA per play allowed: -0.152 (1st)
- Early down success charge allowed: 36.6% (1st)
- Late down EPA per play allowed: 0.023 (twenty second)
- Late down success charge allowed: 41.4% (eighth)
Quotes
Finance to Soccer: Robert Saleh’s Story of Pursuing His Ardour
From Joe Fann for 49ers.com (Jan. 15, 2021)
Saleh’s brother was within the second tower on Sept. 11, 2001. Luckily, he made it to security earlier than the constructing collapsed. Even so, one of many darkest days in American historical past offered a stark reminder that life might be fleeting. Saleh ditched finance for soccer only a few months later.
From Oliver Connolly for The Learn Elective (August 14, 2023)
Saleh needs to play with 4 down linemen, not often blitz, and to sink again into solely a handful of coverages. He’s betting on gamers, not performs; he depends on a core group of ideas dressed up in a few alternative ways, and trusts gamers to react intuitively in protection.
… It’s a really perfect playoff profile – the type that has helped gas the Niners’ deep playoff prices. Few defenses did a greater job of layering their protection than the Jets final 12 months – including as many layers and totally different depths to the protection as attainable. Mixing a well-layered again finish with a ferocious four-man rush is the championship key. Quarterbacks should be excellent. Or Superhuman. Or Patrick Mahomes.
From Judy Battista for NFL.com (Oct. 8, 2024)
Penalties plagued New York final season and have been persevering with to be a difficulty this season — the Jets have been probably the most penalized crew within the 2023 common season (124), and since 2023, they’ve been referred to as for probably the most penalties within the NFL (163). Since 2021, the 12 months Saleh was employed, the Jets have averaged the fewest factors per recreation (17.3) and have probably the most giveaways (89) within the NFL. Saleh’s 20-36 document is the third-worst within the NFL since he was employed.
Why was Robert Saleh Fired by the Jets?
From Warren Sharp for Sharp Soccer Evaluation (Oct. 8, 2024)
Saleh produced a 20-36 document with the Jets. He didn’t have a great quarterback state of affairs for many of his tenure. The weak spot of his quarterbacks was factored into betting strains, nevertheless, and the Jets underperformed towards these expectations. The crew lined the unfold in simply 22 of 56 video games (40%) with Saleh as head coach. That’s the #2 worst charge within the NFL for the reason that begin of Saleh’s tenure. The Jets rank forward of simply the Carolina Panthers, who’ve fired a number of coaches since 2021.
Contained in the Jets’ break up with coach Robert Saleh, subsequent steps
From Wealthy Cimini for ESPN (Oct. 14, 2024)
From all indications, Saleh didn’t lose the locker room. The crew nonetheless was enjoying laborious for him, evidenced by the late rally towards the Vikings. After the firing, some gamers spoke glowingly of Saleh, most notably Gardner, who stated, “I’m going to be utterly trustworthy. With what we’ve been saying [as a team], we’re doing it for him nonetheless.”
The place will Ben Johnson, Brian Flores land? Predicting the NFL teaching hires
From Zack Rosenblatt for The Athletic (Jan. 13, 2025)
This one may really feel prefer it’s out of left subject, however there’s some actual buzz about Saleh’s probabilities of securing [Jacksonville’s head coach] job. Saleh may need been helped by Jets proprietor Woody Johnson’s resolution to fireside him in Week 5, particularly due to what occurred afterward. The Jets have been considerably worse after interim coach Jeff Ulbrich took over, notably on protection, the place Saleh had constructed the Jets into one of many league’s High-5 defenses in each 2022 and ’23.
Obvious pluses
- As Rosenblatt wrote, “Saleh has plenty of followers within the Jaguars’ constructing from his time because the linebackers coach from 2014-16.” Among the many candidates requested to be interviewed by Jacksonville, he and Todd Monken are the one ones who beforehand coached for the crew. Many within the Jaguars’ constructing view the previous as “the one who received away.” Even when Saleh — the NFL’s first Muslim head coach and doubtlessly the Jaguars’ first minority head coach — shouldn’t be picked to run the crew, he’d nonetheless be a reputation to look at at defensive coordinator.
- Saleh checks each field as a defensive thoughts: his scheme maximizes expertise, his recreation plans alter weekly, and his management is unquestionable. After ending as a top-three protection in 2023, the 2024 Jets ranked sixth in EPA per play allowed and success charge allowed from Weeks 1-5 (earlier than Saleh was fired). They have been bottom-four in each metrics from Weeks 6-18.
- He’s been there earlier than. Although he wasn’t profitable in his first stint as NFL head coach, Saleh does get some bonus factors for having led a locker room earlier than. He’s additionally been employed inside the league for 20 years in comparison with 13 years for Ben Johnson and 5 for Liam Coen.
Lingering questions
- Was Saleh’s lack of success in New York solely attributable to quarterback play? It’s laborious to disregard such a poor head coach document (20-36) even with that caveat. He was 13-17 in one-score video games.
- Can he get probably the most out of Trevor Lawrence? If Saleh is chosen to be the Jaguars’ subsequent head coach, a very powerful addition to his employees shall be his offensive coordinator. Maximizing Lawrence is a high precedence for Jacksonville. As a lot because the crew wants a brand new chief, it additionally wants a star quarterback to make it deep into the postseason.
- Can he get probably the most out of Foye Oluokun and Devin Lloyd? After quarterback, the subsequent place to look at beneath Saleh can be linebacker. Saleh coached the group throughout his stint in Jacksonville and helped flip Quincy Williams (drafted and reduce by the Jaguars) into an All-Professional in New York. Oluokun is a beast albeit coming off a comparatively down 12 months, and Lloyd has but to change into the playmaker Jacksonville envisioned after they traded up into the primary spherical in 2021 to draft him.
- Will he re-invent the tradition? And extra particularly, will he keep true to his messaging? Doug Pederson by no means had a constant response when requested about his crew’s identification final season. Ryan Nielsen pitched an “assault and aggressive” mantra however referred to as a comfortable and conservative protection. Apparently, Robert Saleh likes to say “All fuel no brakes.” Whoever Jacksonville’s subsequent head coach is should talk his philosophy and carry it out in full.
Jaguars followers, how do you’re feeling about Saleh? Tell us within the feedback!