Jets HC Robert Saleh bizarrely warned to take away his coaches’ phones to identify who was leaking inside information to the media

Saleh was on thin ice during the 2023 NFL season.

Jets HC Robert Saleh bizarrely warned to take away his coaches’ phones to identify who was leaking inside information to the media

(L) Robert Saleh and (R) Zach Wilson (Image via IMAGO)

It doesn’t take athletic expose to determine that all was not well with the New York Jets last season after Aaron Rodgers‘ unceremonious ending to his first year in the Big Apple. The Jets were unable to recover from the sudden jolt insinuating turmoil that became a headache for head coach Robert Saleh.

The Athletic‘s Dianna Russini and Zack Rosenblatt spoke with several sources within and outside of the Jets organization. It only made things clearer what many thought to have speculated since Rodgers’ injury on the first day of the season. Saleh reportedly was displeased with all the unwanted media attention in addition to the Hard Knocks.

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Zach Wilson took over the rains and only managed a 4-7 record, which proved it was the same Jets, minus Rodgers. Saleh benched Wilson despite being the BYU graduate’s vocal supporter in favor of Tim Boyle. But when he tried to recall Wilson, he allegedly was reluctant to play. The news supposedly leaked that compelled Saleh to be desperate to get a hold of the situation.

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That sent Saleh into a tailspin. The coach held a meeting with his staff two days later, where he asked the leaker to reveal himself. 'If you come forward now, you won’t get into trouble, he told them while threatening to take their cell phones.
Russini and Rosenblatt wrote

It didn’t help when Rodgers tried to chastise the situation by going on the Pat McAfee Show last December. He said,

That’s a problem with the organization. We need to get to the bottom of whatever this is coming from and put a stop to it privately.

Does this affect Robert Saleh’s position as the head coach of the Jets?

All of this does paint Robert Saleh, who just turned 45 a couple of days ago. Here is a coach who was the right-hand man for Kyle Shanahan in the San Francisco 49ers set-up, leading the team to the Super Bowl in 2019. When the Jets hired Saleh, they must have thought he would guarantee the end of their wait for a playoff birth. Unfortunately, he is 18-33 in his first three seasons with the Gang Green.

Jets HC Robert Saleh bizarrely took away his coaches’ phones to identify who was leaking inside information to the media
Robert Saleh and Zach Wilson (Image via ESPN)

Yet Saleh isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon, courtesy of general manager Joe Douglas. He is the one who brought the 49ers defensive coordinator on board. Not only that, Saleh is one of the primary reasons Rodgers even chose to move to New York.

When the organization is in disarray, wild rumors tend to leak out. It’s not even surprising; everything depends on how they handle the situation. If the front office does manage to separate the bad eggs and start from scratch, then the Jets do have a shot at having a good enough roster to challenge any team in the NFC.

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