New Head Coach Rankings: Jets Receive Top Grade For Hiring Robert Saleh

After hiring Robert Saleh, the Jets earned the best grade among the seven franchises that moved on to new head coaches this offseason in this Sports Illustrated report card.

Max Goodman | Jan 29, 2021

If the head coaching cycle this offseason was a competition—which it was to a certain extent—the Jets came out on top.

New York reeled in one of the most highly-sought after candidates on the market, convincing Robert Saleh that the Jets can turn this franchise around with the right individual in charge.

Now, the Jets move forward with a tremendous leader taking over and a coaching staff full of rising stars, all working collaboratively with general manager Joe Douglas and the team's ownership to begin making changes and take steps toward contention.

With all seven head coaching vacancies full, after the Texans hired David Culley, Sports Illustrated's Conor Orr assessed how well each team did with their respective head coach hires.

The Jets received an exceptional evaluation:

GRADE: A

I believe Saleh brings all the good energy of the Rex Ryan era without the side effects. Essentially, the green tea version of Ryan. That is the emotional component of it. Yes, Saleh had an excellent defensive roster and a complementary offense in San Francisco, but he also had to wrangle a defense of gigantic personalities. You don’t simply get someone like Richard Sherman on board without having a strong, requisite knowledge of your scheme and where it's headed. His “All Gas, No Brakes” slogan served as the motivational underpinning of the 49ers roster that made the Super Bowl.

The other slice of the A grade is the fact that he managed to peel Mike LaFleur away from Shanahan, who clung tightly to both of his top offensive assistants. Introducing that system to Sam Darnold, or utilizing it to lure Deshaun Watson out of Houston, is a massive part of this equation."

The only other team that earned a grade close to the Jets was the Chargers. Los Angeles was given an A- for hiring former Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley.

For the rest of Orr's grades, click here.

MORE ON ROBERT SALEH:

Follow Max Goodman on Twitter (@MaxTGoodman), on Facebook (also @MaxTGoodman), be sure to bookmark Jets Country and check back daily for news, analysis and more.

Published Jan 29, 2021

MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Jets for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. He also covers the New York Yankees, publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Yankees site, Inside The Pinstripes. Before starting out with SI, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. While at school, Goodman gathered valuable experience as an anchor and reporter on NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. Goodman previously interned at MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman and connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.