Jets coach Robert Saleh takes a page out of a former Jets coach's playbook

Pete Carroll lasted just one season as the Jets’ head coach, a time that reflected some of the lowest moments in franchise history. A time that led to Rich Kotite’s ruinous 4-28 era and delivered a sense of hopelessness that will never be forgotten by those who lived through it.

But karma has a way of coming full circle, and perhaps Carroll’s legacy won’t simply be a 6-10 season punctuated by Dan Marino’s "Fake Spike" at the Meadowlands.

Perhaps Robert Saleh will be the embodiment of the good that Carroll tried to impart but whose tenure was cut short by impatient owner Leon Hess, who plunged the team even deeper into the abyss until he finally landed Bill Parcells as his franchise fixer.

Saleh is a coaching descendant of Carroll from their time together in Seattle, where Carroll has become one of the NFL’s most successful coaches with two Super Bowl runs and one championship ring. Carroll left a lasting impression on Saleh that the Jets’ coach now uses with the team Carroll once coached.

"Pete Carroll once said, ‘You can’t be afraid to play young guys,’ " Saleh said during the offseason. " ‘They’re hell on wheels, and they’re fun to watch.’ "

Fast forward to this year’s Jets, and you see that philosophy in action. On offense, Saleh had zero qualms about going with No. 2 overall draft pick Zach Wilson as his starting quarterback — just as Carroll once did with Russell Wilson, a former third-round pick who beat out free-agent acquisition Matt Flynn as a rookie.

Saleh has also employed that philosophy on defense, where he eschewed the option of signing more experienced defensive backs — including former Seahawks star Richard Sherman — and decided to go for broke with the likes of rookies Brandin Echols, Isaiah Dunn, Jason Pinnock and Michael Carter III. Second-year corner Bryce Hall is having a terrific season.

With Marcus Maye out with an ankle injury and Ashtyn Davis just coming back from a foot problem, Saleh activated safeties Jarrod Wilson and Adrian Colbert off the practice squad for last Sunday’s game against the Titans, although the Jets released Wilson on Thursday before signing him to their practice squad.

End result: The kids flourished in the Jets’ first win of the season, a 27-24 overtime victory against the Titans. Wilson starred in the second half, and the defense found a way against Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry.

"The defense has been spectacular all season," Saleh said. "Stats don’t do justice to what they’ve been able to accomplish at all three levels. The defensive line was outstanding. The linebackers were outstanding. The young DBs, play after play after play, through all the adversity, call them what you will. Credit to them. They were fantastic."

Credit to Saleh for heeding the advice of his mentor, who never got a realistic chance to carry out his vision of what a football team should look like when Carroll was one-and-done in 1994.

Remember, too, that Saleh is operating without the man who was supposed to be the team’s best pass rusher. Carl Lawson was felled by a season-ending Achilles injury during joint preseason practices with the Packers after dominating training camp. But the Jets have applied Saleh’s mantra of "all gas, no brake" to their young defense, and the results have been promising.

It’s certainly not perfect, but Saleh will take a game like Sunday every time. The 1-3 Jets recorded seven sacks against the Titans— their highest total in almost four seasons — and they battered Tannehill, who was under pressure the entire game.

That kind of pass rush is just what a young secondary can use, because it makes it that much easier to cover receivers without having to worry about a quarterback having too much time or scrambling his way out of danger to find an open man.

The Jets rank 13th overall in yards allowed (353.3), but they rank first in one very important category: They’ve allowed just two passing touchdowns, a remarkable achievement based on the collective inexperience of their secondary. The cornerbacks — expected to be vulnerable coming into the season — haven’t allowed a single touchdown pass.

You know who’d love that stat? Pete Carroll. He may not be coaching here any longer, but Saleh is representing his old boss quite well.

All gas, no brake. Words to live by for a promising young defense.

By Bob Glauber

Special to NewsdayBobGlauber

Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”