How Hiring Robert Saleh Affects Sam Darnold's Future with the N.Y. Jets
Following one of the worst seasons in franchise history, the New York Jets agreed to terms with former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh on Thursday night. Saleh signed a five year contract according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The hiring of Saleh means that the Jets will likely start to re-build on the defensive side of the ball. After all, Saleh has an outstanding 16-year resume as a defensive coach in the NFL.
He coached an injured San Francisco defense to a top-10 defense in total yards (5th), rush yards (7th) and pass yards (4th) in 2020. While in 2019, when the 49ers had most of their defense healthy, San Francisco finished second overall in the league in total defense.
Saleh's defense allowed an astonishingly low 281.8 yards per game, which was the best in the NFL since 1997. The 49ers made the Super Bowl and Saleh received the Sporting News' Coordinator of the Year award for his defensive efforts.
As we expect the defense to be the main priority for New York they are expected to have the Niners' pass game coordinator Mike LaFleur, join him in the Big Apple as the new O.C.
This means that an overhaul and reboot could be on the horizon. Especially when the Jets ranked dead last in points (15.2) and yards (279.9) per game as an offensive unit this past season.
For Darnold, this means that his time may be up at MetLife Stadium. General manager Joe Douglas made it clear that Darnold's future will be dependent on who the team hires as the new head coach, so the ball is now in Saleh's court.
Since Saleh is a defensive-minded guy, he may let LaFleur have a major say in the mix up of offensive personnel.
If the former Trojan doesn't have the skillset that the Jets new staff is looking for, then it will be an easy decision for the organization to transition away from the QB.
The best chance Darnold will have of staying in New York will be if Saleh gives him a chance to play his fourth and final year of his rookie deal as an audition. This scenario would happen if Saleh believes that the former No. 3 overall pick has talent, and that his young career has been hindered by bad coaching in the prior regime.
The other possibility of Sam staying as the signal-caller can revolve around if New York wants to use it's picks, cap space and assets on defensive personnel in Saleh's first year. The former bay area coach could choose to focus on re-building the offense in year two of his tenure.
We're still a few weeks away from the official start of the NFL offseason, so we might not have an answer any time soon. What we do know is that the person who will make the decision has finally arrived in New York.
It's officially your move Robert Saleh.
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