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They probably weren’t really a threat
When Robert Saleh left his second interview with the Jets with no deal, some people got nervous that he could end up in Philadelphia.
But like I wrote the other day, I really didn’t view Philly as a threat for Saleh. First off all, they are in salary cap hell, and secondly, there seems be some front office dysfunction there right now, and who would you rather work with as a partner, Joe Douglas, or the GM in Philly who’s struggled without Douglas the last two years.
So Saleh’s trip to Philly was more about leverage, getting the Jets to sweeten the pot, more than seriously considering the Eagles’ job.
You might say that the Jets have had their share of dysfunction, so why am I attacking the Eagles? Well, here is the deal – Christopher Johnson is not a meddling owner, Jeffrey Lurie is. Look at the QB mess in Philly this year. Christopher Johnson’s problem is that he is a hands-off owner who had had the wrong people making his football decisions (before Douglas arrived). With Douglas and Saleh, he probably now has two guys who can do a solid job running the Jets’ football operation, so his hands-off approach will work.
As for Christopher’s brother, Woody, who is going to return soon, Christopher will make it clear to his brother not to meddle, and just let these two guys do their thing. Also, Woody is going to need to be low key and stay out of the spotlight with some of the stuff going on.
Also, hiring Saleh could help Woody. If Saleh supports Woody publicly, the media will back down.
But no matter how you slice it, Woody can’t meddle, and needs to stay in the background, and Christopher will make that very clear to his brother – leave these two very qualified football men alone and let them do their thing – we hired them for a reason.
In Saleh, the Jets are getting an alpha dog leader, who commands the room, and can help them create the strong football culture they have been lacking for a long time.
And his defensive system should help the Jets’ young players stop making so many mental errors.
The system Saleh runs is derived from Pete Carroll’s in Seattle, and is very player-friendly, allowing players to run around and make plays, without getting dragged down by a ton of nuances.
And it helps get younger players on the field faster, which is important in a salary cap sport. Former NFL scout Bucky Brooks, thinks one of the reason that Dallas hired Dan Quinn as DC and Las Vegas hired Gus Bradley, is they also run the Carroll system, and with the salary cap going down, they might need to go with more young players.
“They have had success with getting young guys on the field,” said Brooks on NFL Network. “There are a lot of people who will knock the simplicity of the scheme, but the simplicity of the scheme enables you to develop and get young guys on the field. And when you think about where the league is trending, a salary cap crunch, young guys more than ever need to be able to get on the field and be able to play.”
Let’s be honest about the system the Jets played the last two years, it had a lot of bells and whistles, and the Jets blew out of coverage assignments, so maybe going simpler on defense in Florham Park is the way to go.
January 15, 2021
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