Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic recently predicted that the next Jacksonville Jaguars head coach will be Robert Saleh.
This prediction, however, was more than just a gut feel on Rosenblatt’s part. What he’s hearing is what ultimately led to him making this projection, saying that there is some “real buzz” around Saleh’s chances of securing the job in Jacksonville.
Rosenblatt would also go on to say that Saleh has “a lot of fans in the Jaguars building” from his time there as the linebackers coach from 2014-2016.
Saleh was the New York Jets head coach from 2021-2024 but was fired very early in the season, which is something that Rosenblatt points out, might be helping him, given how poorly the Jets played, including on defense, after he was let go.
With up and down play at quarterback, Saleh and the Jets could never get the offense quite right and he finished his head coaching career in New York with a record of 20-36 with no playoff appearances.
However, despite the struggles on that side of the ball, Saleh’s defenses ranked top five in football during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
As Rosenblatt also notes, the quarterback position in Jacksonville with Trevor Lawrence would provide Saleh with that stability and that he would be “inheriting a more talented roster in Jacksonville” than he did with the Jets.
Saleh is currently scheduled to interview on Tuesday. The Jaguars have already interviewed Steve Spanuolo, Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn, and Patrick Graham.
