In a blockbuster feature on the Jets in The Athletic this week by Dianna Russini and Zach Rosenblatt, they reported that after somebody leaked that Zach Wilson was hesitant to return to the starting lineup, Saleh was so angry he threatened to take company cell phones away from assistant coaches.
“The coach held a meeting with his staff two days later where he asked the leaker to reveal himself, according to multiple people in attendance. ‘If you come forward now, you won’t get in trouble,’ he told them while threatening to take their cell phones,” Russini and Rosenblatt reported.
The reporters said staff members were “bemused” by his “obsession” over his reaction to the Wilson story. Some on the internet have portrayed Saleh in a less than favorable light over this.
But what was wrong with Saleh trying to get to the bottom of leaks and trying to stop them?
When Bill Parcells coached the Jets, he was so obsessed with stopping leaks, he had phone records checked at Weeb Eubank Hall and even put out a fake transaction to his staff to see if somebody would leak it, and somebody did, putting that staffer in hot water.
So what is exactly wrong with a coach resorting to draconian measures to stop staff leaks?
Saleh has a lot to improve upon as a head coach, but it’s hard to find fault with him reading the riot act to his coaches over media leaks.
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