Several Jets players met with the media on Zoom calls the day after the team’s season ended. Everyone was asked what was missing from the Jets, who had just finished 2-14 for the fifth consecutive losing season and ranked 10th in the playoffs.
Each gave a similar answer about the lack of identity and winning culture of the Jets.
The Jets hope they have solved the problem by hiring Robert Saleh as their new head coach. Saleh comes to the Jets after internships with successful organizations such as the 49ers and Seahawks. He has a Super Bowl ring and he went to another.
Saleh gave the impression to Jets decision-makers that he could be a desperate agent of change needed for the organization. He seems to have the personality and makeup to inspire and push the team in the right direction. It’s something the Jets struggled with as head coach under Adam Gase and Todd Bowles.
“Offense, defense, special teams, it doesn’t matter,” Saleh said this season about his philosophy. “The mentality of the manager creates an atmosphere in which the players compete and the players fight for each other, and the players have a genuine love for each other.”
Saleh served as the defensive coach for quality control for the Seahawks during 2011-13. This is a low-level position, but Saleh has to watch Seattle head coach Pete Carroll work every day. Culture is an overused word in sports, but Carroll created a culture in Seattle.
“The only thing they pushed for in Seattle was culture,” said Jets offensive striker George Fant, who played for the 2016-19 Seahawks. “We have to change the culture. We need to bring culture here. I think that’s what they promised to do. ”
Fant showed Carroll the tone in Seattle.
“It’s different everywhere. In Seattle, Pete is the culture, “said Fant. “The way he comes to work every day with enthusiasm makes you feel like you’re not at work. Have fun playing football and bonding every day as teammates and coaches. ”
Bowles and Gase both tried to establish a culture, but failed. None of them had oversized personalities to establish immediate change. They both thought they could do it in time, bringing in certain types of players and winning. Rex Ryan changed the Jets culture when he walked in the door, the players bought when the team started to win and led to two AFC title games. The jets then let a few key team leaders get out the door and the team felt separated. The Jets have been trying to regroup ever since.
For too long, there has been no identity in being Jet.
“Just a real identity,” said Tarell Basham, the linebacker at the end of the season, about what the team lacked, “in terms of what you see when you look at line D, what you see when you look at the secondary, what you see when you look at the line offensive, what do you see when you look at our receiving body, an identity. This is something we miss. “
Players come and go and there is no tradition passed on, as is the case with teams like the Ravens, Steelers or Patriots. Saleh won’t be able to change that overnight. It will take time, and general manager Joe Douglas has to secure his list of players who will stay here for more than two years.
However, Saleh feels that he can change the conversation around the Jets when he enters the door. In a way, he already has, when you look at the reaction of the fans to the announcement on Thursday night. Jets fans have not been so universally happy with a decision for a long time.
Saleh talked in 2017 about how Carroll influenced him.
“The biggest influence I’ve had from coach Carroll is philosophically,” Saleh told ESPN. “Understanding who you are as a person. Understanding what is important to you as a person. And, how to apply it to the message you are trying to convey. Understanding that everyone has a style and that each style is the right style, provided you apply it correctly. So just from the point of view of philosophy, talking to people, treating people is where I have the biggest growth from coach Carroll. ”