First-time head coach Robert Saleh has a hands-on, all-inclusive approach to managing

Robert Saleh is one week away from his first real game as an NFL head coach, but he doesn’t sound or act like someone doing this for the first time.

Saleh, 42, is in his 17th consecutive year in the NFL. He’s had a variety of roles and been a part two Super Bowl teams and some two- and three-win groups. All of those experiences prepared him for this moment and this position.

The Jets were looking for a leader of men and a great communicator to help turn around the franchise when they fired Adam Gase following last year’s two-win debacle. They wanted someone who would be almost like a CEO and oversee everything, not just one side of the football.

Saleh hasn't just checked those boxes. He's destroyed them.

Saleh is overseeing everything, not just the defense. He’s leading, teaching and managing personalities while knowing he still doesn’t have all the answers. But Saleh will never stop seeking them out.

"Robert does such a great job of having his finger on the pulse of every aspect of our team from the locker room, from offense, defense, special teams," general manager Joe Douglas said. "You see in his team meetings and how he communicates with the team.

"I think his ability to really have his finger on the pulse of everything, along with his passion, his people skills, his communication skills and this staff of great teachers that he brought in, it’s been special to watch."

Saleh is passionate, energetic and exuberant. But he doesn’t yell much. Saleh said he’s never been "a big yeller" and he doesn’t really yell in games.

His coaching style is to teach, encourage and motivate, Occasionally, he shows some fire after a defensive play, but he quickly catches himself because he’s in charge of the whole show now.

"It’s just his calm demeanor and the ability to get guys going and the juice that he brings every day," rookie quarterback Zach Wilson said. "He’s got a personality that when team meetings end you kind of want to run through a wall for him.

"The dude, you can tell he’s passionate about it. He coaches the right things, and he gets guys to play hard."

The Jets are the NFL’s youngest team. They have 12 rookies. That doesn’t include the staff. Saleh, his offensive and defensive coordinators and five position coaches are in their jobs for the first time.

Saleh doesn’t just spend time teaching and coaching his players. He does the same with his coaches.

He started out as a defensive intern in Houston and kept climbing the ranks to linebackers coach in Jacksonville and then 49ers defensive coordinator. Saleh understands what every person on his staff is going through and he’s trying to help them.

"I was in their shoes four years ago as a first-time coordinator and then I was in their shoes as a first-time linebackers coach," Saleh said. "There’s empathy in that regard.

"I just try to go through my experiences and just try to do the best I can and speak with regards to, ‘Hey, you know what, this happened in 2013 and this is the way we reacted to it and this is what we did. This happened in ’17, ’18,’ whatever it might be. To not overflow them and try to make them me, but to help them stay ahead of the chains with regards to their process and how they do things. That’s really the dialogue that we’re having."

Saleh said these are private conversations with the coaches, and it starts a dialogue that he hopes will prepare everyone for handling situations when they arise. The Jets spend 10 minutes every day going through situations, not only on offense and defense but for Saleh as well.

"There’s going to be great learning experiences, even for me as a first-time head coach," Saleh said. "There’s so many different things that can happen and will happen and our ability to learn is what defines the staff."

Saleh also makes sure he’s involved in all meetings — not just defense — without being intrusive. It’s something he learned from Mike Shanahan and his son Kyle, whom Saleh worked for in San Francisco.

He sits in meetings from his office, watching them on his computer. Saleh called it "a little convenient deal" in which he can bounce in and out of meetings and see what’s being discussed and whether he needs to offer any input.

"I don’t want people to coach differently just because I’m in there," Saleh said. "It’s not necessarily to spy. But it’s more of an opportunity to just go in there and just watch and just stay connected."

All of this is a stark contrast to what Saleh’s predecessor did. Gase left the defense to coordinator Gregg Williams while he spent all of his time on the offense and trying to develop quarterback Sam Darnold. That didn’t work.

Saleh said he will be more involved with the defensive game-planning. But he’ll stay connected with the entire operation, which is what the Jets wanted in their new coach.

"I’ve been taking all of this in," Saleh said. "It’s for real now, or whatever you want to call it. Everything’s had meaning though. It doesn’t change the meaning. Maybe the game didn’t count but it mattered, with preseason. Every single day matters and all of it is exciting."