Robert Saleh Not Planning To Join Another Coaching Staff In 2024

Despite calls from 49ers fans who want Robert Saleh to return to San Francisco, the now-fired Jets coach has no intention of taking another coaching job during the 2024 season, per Michael Silver of The San Francisco Chronicle.

Instead, Saleh is going on vacation with his family before preparing for the 2025 NFL hiring cycle, when he should be a popular candidate for teams in need of a new defensive coordinator. The Jets’ defense has consistently been one of the best in the league since Saleh’s arrival in 2021, ranking in the top three of points per drive, EPA per play, and success rate allowed, according to ESPN’s Benjamin Solak. That followed a strong stretch as defensive coordinator of the 49ers from 2017 to 2020, which earned Saleh the gig in New York.

Saleh’s firing was so sudden that he did not get a chance to meet with his players before he left the building, per Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz. However, Saleh’s departure from the building has, to a degree, been blown out of proportion by rampant speculation. He was not physically ejected from the Jets’ facility, merely escorted out by security in a common corporate practice, according to Peter Schrager of NFL Network.

Saleh’s defensive pedigree could likely land him a position with another NFL team this season if he wanted it, with the Texans (who employ ex-Saleh staffer DeMeco Ryans as HC) also looming as a natural fit. But the three-plus-year Jets HC seems content to collect the remainder of his 2024 salary from the Jets as he contemplates his future. One year remains on Saleh’s Jets contract, a five-year deal that ended up producing a 20-36 record.

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