Jets OC Mike LaFleur: It would have benefited Zach Wilson 'to sit back and learn'

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Mike LaFleur acknowledged that the Jets haven’t done enough to develop Zach Wilson and admitted that they probably should have let Wilson watch a veteran quarterback play instead of just handing him the starting job as a rookie.

It’s the first time anyone in the organization has admitted publicly that Wilson, the No. 2 overall pick last year, was not ready to lead the Jets.

“In hindsight,” said LaFleur, the team’s embattled offensive coordinator, “it probably would have benefited [Wilson] just to sit back and learn a little bit and watch a veteran do it and just kind of grow in this league, kind of in the backseat watching and getting better in practice and through scout team. That wasn’t the course that we went. We’ve got to pick up the scraps and we’ve got to get back to work.”

LaFleur referenced how Aaron Rodgers spent his first three seasons watching Brett Favre with the Packers, and how Jordan Love is doing the same now with Rodgers.

The Jets didn’t have a veteran quarterback to mentor Wilson and give him someone to compete with in camp last year. Mike White and James Morgan were the other quarterbacks on the roster, and Joe Flacco was obtained in a midseason trade.

LaFleur said the Jets have to reflect and check for signs Wilson showed that they may have missed. “We’re going to have to look back and see not necessarily red flags but what indicators were there that said he wasn’t ready,” LaFleur said. “Hindsight’s 20/20; it really doesn’t matter. We just got to learn from it, and we will.”

Wilson has been benched twice this season and is expected to be a healthy scratch for the fifth time when the Jets (7-9) play their final game Sunday in Miami. He has thrown six touchdown passes and seven interceptions in nine games.

Robert Saleh has been adamant that the Jets won’t give up on Wilson and said, “Through hell or high water, we’re going to figure out how to get him to where we know he can be.” LaFleur reiterated that while also conceding that he and quarterbacks coach Rob Calabrese haven’t done enough for Wilson.

“Through two years, we haven’t done our job with him,” LaFleur said. “Any player at any position that isn’t producing to a level that they’re capable of, as a coach, you failed them. There’s a two-way street with it. The players kind of meet you in the middle with it.

“We all know that Zach, he hasn’t played at his absolute best. He’s shown spurts. He’s shown the talent. It’s like Saleh said yesterday, through hell or high water, we’re going to work with him. We’re going to with any of these guys. If they’re on this roster, we’re going to work with them, period. And it’s not going to stop.”

There is legitimate question regarding LaFleur’s job security. Saleh went to bat for him this week, saying it’s important to avoid making “knee-jerk reactions that could derail what could be a pretty damn good football coach.”

Saleh obviously wants to keep LaFleur, but Jets owner Woody Johnson will have the final say.

The Jets’ offensive struggles have been glaring, and LaFleur holds himself accountable. They have gone two straight games without a touchdown and have scored four during this five-game losing streak.

“The last month has [stunk],” LaFleur said. “But I know there’s a reason for it and we’re going to grow because of it.”

LaFleur, whose father coached at Central Michigan and whose brother Matt is the Packers’ head coach, understands it’s “a production-based business” and that his group isn’t producing. He wouldn’t address why he believes he still is the right man for the job.

“I grew up in a family of coaches,” LaFleur said. “My dad’s been fired. My brother’s been fired. Every coach is going to be fired at some point . . . That doesn’t keep me up at night.

“I’m not going to try to advocate one way or the other. I just know I’m going to continue to grind until they don’t allow us to grind anymore.”

White limited. White, who missed two games because of fractured ribs, showed up on Thursday’s injury report as “limited” because of his ribs. He was a full participant on Wednesday.

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.