Pro Football Rumors
TODAY, 6:35pm: Not so fast. With Liam Coen reportedly reentering the Jaguars HC mix, Saleh’s meeting with the organization is on hold. Dianna Russini of The Athletic says Saleh hasn’t traveled to Jacksonville for his meeting with the Jaguars, which was scheduled to take place tomorrow. Russini cautions that “plans are fluid,” but it sounds like Saleh is waiting to see how things unfold with Coen.
For what it’s worth, Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports reported that Saleh did indeed fly to Jacksonville before news broke of Coen’s renewed interest. However, multiple reports (including Russini and Michael Silver of The Athletic) have said Saleh never traveled to Florida.
MONDAY, 4:30pm: With Ben Johnson having chosen the Bears, the AFC South team is looking at other options. After Robert Saleh impressed the Jaguars during his first meeting, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports a second interview is on tap.
Saleh will meet again with Jags brass Friday. The former Jets HC interviewed for the Cowboys and Raiders’ jobs and looks to have a 49ers DC reunion in his back pocket if another top job does not pan out. But Saleh appears to have a legitimate chance of landing another HC job months after being fired.
Saleh’s Cowboys and Raiders meetings commenced last week; he met with the Jags on January 14. While Saleh being a coveted option after three sub-.500 Jets seasons could speak to this year’s thinner talent pool — the long-held perception, at least — Gang Green’s tumble after Woody Johnson‘s abrupt decision to fire his head coach five games into this season may also have helped the defense-minded coach’s stock. The Jets went from 2-3 under Saleh this year to a 5-12 finish. The team also finished worse with Aaron Rodgers as a 17-game starter than it did with Saleh coaching Zach Wilson; the Jets went 7-10 in 2022 and ’23.
The Jags and Saleh have a short history together as well. Saleh’s springboard to his 49ers DC opportunity came after he coached the Jags’ linebackers from 2014-16. While this was not exactly a memorable period for the franchise, as it finished with double-digit losses in each of those years, Saleh was hired during Shad Khan‘s ownership tenure.
The Jets rocketed from last place in scoring and total defense in Saleh’s first season (2021) to fourth in both categories in his second. The Wilson-Nathaniel Hackett partnership put the Jets’ defense in tougher spots in 2023, when they ranked 12th in scoring. That season still produced a fourth-place finish in total defense for a unit doomed by the team’s untenable QB situation. Saleh would walk into a better spot in Jacksonville, but it remains to be seen if his resume would warrant such a bump so soon after a firing. A Saleh hire would also place great importance on identifying a play-caller to further Trevor Lawrence‘s development.
Buccaneers OC Liam Coen has been closely tied to this job. Although he has less experience on the coordinator level than Saleh, the former...
