Robert Saleh's debut as Jets head coach is all about his players

Robert Saleh has worked most of his adult life waiting for this opportunity, and now that it has arrived, the emotions are running higher.

But not for the reasons you might think.

"Just like being a position coach or a coordinator," Saleh said Monday. "My blood starts flowing a little bit faster."

It is Game Week for the Jets, and nearly time for the 42-year-old longtime assistant to begin his life as an NFL head coach. There is only one debut, and Saleh is just days away from his as the Jets prepare for Sunday’s regular-season opener at Carolina.

But Saleh insists this is not about him, nor is it about the beginning of anything other than his continuing work to help build the Jets back into contenders after years of disappointment.

"Right now, it’s all about the players and giving them every opportunity, and all the focus is on them to help them make plays on Sunday," Saleh said. "That’s most important. I really don’t think about what it means for me or anything. Everything is about them."

If Saleh does take a moment to reflect on his journey — and he has every right to do just that, considering how much time and energy he has put into his vocation — it will be a quiet one. Perhaps he will reflect on all the stops along the way: From his time at Fordson High School in Dearborn, Michigan to Northern Michigan University, where he was an All-Conference tight end and earned a degree in finance. And all the jobs after that — Michigan State, Central Michigan and the University of Georgia. Then his NFL journey as an assistant with the Texans, Seahawks, Jaguars and 49ers before getting the Jets’ job.

And perhaps he’ll reflect on his decision to become a coach in the first place, a life-altering change that began 20 years ago this week. Saleh’s brother, David, was training as a financial adviser inside the south tower of the World Trade Center the morning of the Sept. 11 attacks. David Saleh got out alive; thousands of others didn’t.

"I think everyone — somehow, some way — is somewhat impacted from 9/11," Saleh said at his introductory news conference with the Jets in January. "Going through my brother’s experience and the tragedy that he experienced, being able to self-reflect on what I was doing at that moment and realizing that I had a passion for football really triggered this whole thing.

"I’m supposed to be here, and I believe that," Saleh said. "God does things for a reason, and I believe this is one of them."

Saleh has many reasons to be thankful, many reasons to celebrate a new journey that will begin in earnest on Sunday in his first game as a head coach. But this will not be a time for self-indulgence. In Saleh’s mind, it simply isn’t about him.

It’s about his players.

"At the end of the day, they’re the ones who are putting on the uniforms," he said. " . . . They’re the ones that have to execute at a very high level, and it’s our job to make sure that they’re given every opportunity to do that."

The excitement level is sure to reach a crescendo as the week goes on, and as he stands on the sideline before Sunday’s game, his heart will be pounding. As it should at a moment like this.

But that time is not now.

"I’m sure I’ll be amped up as heck on Sunday," he said, "but right now, there’s a calm in preparation that has to take place."

Kickoff will be here soon enough. The journey is about to begin. Good for Saleh. He has earned his way here.

Jets fans now hope he can be the one to lift their team from the depths.

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.”