The New York Jets are going into the 2025 season with a completely new regime. A new head coach and quarterback was just the start. Numerous other veterans found themselves looking for a new opportunity elsewhere.
However, one former coach needed to make sure his mental health was addressed prior to returning to the game.
“I Needed Therapy” Jets Cause Major Mental Health Scare (Report)
In an interview, Robert Saleh discussed the impact of being fired last season by the New York Jets:
After being dropped, Saleh was offered a consultant position with the Green Bay Packers by their coach Matt LaFleur.
Doing so provided Saleh with clarity and a way to work through all the problems he experienced in New York.
‘Yeah, you know I joke with Matt, I think it was more therapy for me than I was a help for him,’ Saleh told reporters on Thursday.
‘But it was just trying to give him a defensive perspective regarding, looking from an offensive standpoint, watching the defense. Giving them thoughts on rules and what may or may not work.
‘But I’m, again, forever grateful to Matty for opening the door to his building and allowing me the opportunity to work there just because of the, well, from a mental space.
‘It was, like I said, more therapeutic than anything for me.’
Saleh was hired as the Jets head coach from the 49ers when he was their defensive coordinator the first time.
Little was expected of him in his first season as the Jets just drafted their ‘quarterback of the future’: Zach Wilson.
A 4-13 season was followed by improvement in 2022 – as the Jets jumped up to 7-10 thanks in part to Offensive Rookie of the Year Garrett Wilson and Defensive Rookie of the Year Sauce Gardner.
Expectations were raised when the Jets went out and pulled off a thought-to-be massive trade for quarterback Aaron Rodgers. However, the former Packers QB got injured just a few plays into his first season.
If anything, it’s a testament to how good of a coach Saleh is when the Jets still managed to go 7-10 despite losing their top quarterback.
So, with Rodgers healthy for 2024, many believed the Jets would make a run at their first playoff appearance since 2010.
Instead, they struggled out of the gate and finished 5-12.
While that roller coaster of emotions and expectations could be disorienting for any coach, Saleh says that time away from the experience has given him the lessons learned
‘You learn a lot,’ he said. ‘I’ve said it before, there is no handbook for a first-time head coach,’ Saleh said.
