A ‘win now’ mentality might be placed on the New York Jets this year, but head coach Robert Saleh is more focused on simply winning the day.
They may be one and the same for the Jets, but following last year’s understandably disappointing season, the focus is on daily progression and not a trip to New Orleans in February.
The Jets have one of the more talented rosters in the NFL, featuring plenty of established veterans led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers. But there is some incredible young talent on both sides of the ball, headlined by cornerback Sauce Gardner as well as wide receivers Garrett Wilson and running back Breece Hall.
All that means that the Jets, a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2010 season, have legitimate and well-founded Super Bowl expectations.
“You know, the pressure is always going to be there. We always feel pressure to win. Now (or) later, it doesn’t matter. As far as outside noise, and creating the expectations of ultimatums, it doesn’t matter,” head coach Robert Saleh told reporters on Friday.
“That’s an end result we have no control over, but we have what we have control over, and the greatest expectation is to be our best every day, and really that’s the biggest focus.”
There is no denying, however, that the Jets are a talented team. The addition of Rodgers last year was supposed to see the Jets through to a postseason appearance.
His Week 1 Achilles injury understandably changed expectations for the Jets.
But in their 7-10 season, the Jets saw players such as Gardner, Hall and Wilson grow into legitimate impact players and stars. Another year of growth and development could and should see the Jets compete for a winning record.
And if Rodgers can stay healthy, there is every reason to believe that the Jets can flip their record from a year ago.
Saleh spent four years as the defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers before becoming the Jets head coach in 2021, the feeling of turning a corner with a team is similar.
The 49ers have won three NFC West titles since 2019. They’ve been to the Super Bowl twice during that time.
“I think we all felt last year was going to be that for us, my first year in San Fran we went 6-10, second year we went 4-12, and then our third year we went to the Super Bowl, we went 13-3 if I remember right, and then my fourth year, we went 6-10, the COVID year,” Saleh said.
“That was the year of all the injuries, and last year really felt like we were getting ready to take that third-year leap, similar to what Detroit (Lions) experienced this year. Obviously, it didn’t work out the way we wanted it to, but this year’s going to be
fun.”
