Perhaps it’s not ideal to have this combination.
The Jets have a rookie QB (Zach Wilson) and rookie offensive coordinator (Mike LaFleur).
LaFleur isn’t new to the league, but was never an OC on the NFL level.
JC asked Robert Saleh in Denver about the challenge of having so much NFL inexperience in this all-important combination.
“You want to say it shouldn’t be tough,” said Saleh. “You do want to see growth, day in and day out, you want to see the entire offense, you want to see that growth, you want to see that communication, you want to see the precision as we go. I think we’ll see.”
In fairness, the Jets had hired veteran QB coach/offensive coordinator Greg Knapp to be LaFleur’s first lieutenant, and passing game coordinator, but he was killed while biking by a man texting and driving.
However, there is no way around the fact the team has a rookie head coach being led by a rookie offensive coordinator.
Some might argue this isn’t the best case scenario.
However, to add context, Saleh pointed out the incredible challenge this duo, and the Jets’ newfangled offense, faced in the first three weeks of the season.
“To the naked eye, we played three really good football teams (Panthers, Patriots and Broncos) and three really big defenses,” Saleh said. “Carolina’s undefeated and Denver’s undefeated. All three of them have top five defenses, so this has been a rough indoctrination for quarterback in our offense but at the same time we do expect plays to be made and progression to be made.”
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