Ex-Jets Coach Robert Saleh Named a HC Finalist

Getty

Former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh reacting in the middle of a press conference.

It sounds like former New York Jets coach, Robert Saleh, is going to land on his feet in 2025.

ESPN NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler revealed on social media that Saleh “has a second interview” with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Friday, January 24 to discuss the vacant Jaguars head coaching position.

“Saleh acquitted himself well in [the] first interview and gets a longer look,” Fowler added.

Saleh Has Proven to be a Hot Commodity in Coaching Circles

So far this coaching cycle, Saleh has interviewed as a head coaching candidate for three different teams including the Dallas Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders, and the Jaguars.

The Jets fired Saleh following the team’s Week 5 road trip to London to play against the Minnesota Vikings. Gang Green was 2-3 at the time of Saleh’s firing.

The Jets finished 3-9 the rest of the way ending up with a 5-12 record on the year.

Saleh getting all of this attention after being fired by the Jets with a 20-36 record as a head coach is an indictment on the Jets. Other teams are saying that Saleh stunk because the Jets stink and that he would do much better in their more stable organizations.

Saleh to Jaguars Buzz is Real

On January 13, Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic revealed that there is “real buzz” about Saleh landing the Jaguars head coaching gig.

“Saleh might have been helped by Jets owner Woody Johnson’s decision to fire him in Week 5, especially because of what happened afterward. The Jets were significantly worse after interim coach Jeff Ulbrich took over, particularly on defense, where Saleh had built the Jets into one of the league’s Top-5 defenses in both 2022 and ’23,” Rosenblatt said. “More importantly, as it relates to the Jaguars’ job: Saleh has a lot of fans in the Jaguars’ building from his time as the linebackers coach from 2014-16.”

Former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was a legit candidate with the Jaguars but he is now off the board. Johnson was hired by the Chicago Bears to be their next head coach on Monday, January 20.

“With Ben Johnson – Bears, Robert Saleh’s chances of landing the Jaguars gig increase. He’s very, very respected there,” Connor Hughes of SNY revealed on social media.

If Saleh lands with the Jaguars, he will get a chance at revenge against his old team. The Jets are scheduled to travel to Jacksonville to play the Jags in 2025.

If he doesn’t land a HC gig, Saleh has been heavily rumored in the defensive coordinator sweepstakes with the Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers.

The Jets are scheduled to host the Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. Gang Green doesn’t have the 49ers on the schedule next season.

“Former 49ers defensive coordinator and New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh is seen as an overwhelming favorite to land the job,” Vincent Frank of Forbes wrote. “According to Matt Barrows of The Athletic, San Francisco is prepared to make Saleh an offer that would make him the highest-paid defensive coordinator in NFL history. ‘We will make you the highest-paid defensive coordinator in all the land if you sign with us,’ Barrows relayed on a recent podcast.”