Robert Saleh Outlines Plans for the Jets, With No Specifics About Quarterback

As Robert Saleh said he planned to infuse every aspect of the Jets with a clear identity, the team on Thursday formally announced the bulk of the staff that will support him as he begins his first season as the head coach of an N.F.L. team.

Several of the assistants have ties to the San Francisco 49ers, whose defense thrived with Saleh as its coordinator over the last four years. The Jets’ defense, which ranked 26th in points allowed in 2020, will be led by Jeff Ulbrich, who was promoted to the Atlanta Falcons’ co-defensive coordinator this season after serving as their linebackers 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 coach for special teams with the Seattle Seahawks, he worked with Saleh during the 2011 season. Saleh said that, unlike some former coordinators when they become head coaches, he would leave the defensive play calling to Ulbrich and take on more of an oversight role.

As Saleh, 41, tries to end the Jets’ 10-year streak of no postseason appearances, the question of whether to stick with quarterback Sam Darnold, the No. 3 pick in the 2018 draft, looms large. On Thursday, Saleh declined to discuss whether the team was considering using its No. 2 overall pick in this spring’s draft on another young quarterback or possibly trying to trade for the Houston Texans’ Deshaun Watson, who has reportedly become disaffected after the team’s hiring of a new general manager without his consultation.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/sports/football/robert-saleh-jets.html