It’s a little harder for Robert Saleh, whose 7-10 matches last year’s underwhelming record, whose lifetime mark of 18-33 is plenty fireable on the surface and whose sideline performance has yet to inspire many to declare him the second coming of Weeb Ewbank. Or even Walt Michaels.
Still, Saleh’s job security is even more solid that Daboll’s for one reason and one reason only: He has the Aaron Rodgers seal of approval. Now we can go 15 rounds over whether that’s the best way to run a football team — spoiler alert: it is not — but that’s simply the law of the land in Florham Park. Saleh was getting Year 4 as long asCoaching in the NFL — where just 32 men at any one time have the job — is enough of a pressure cooker.
Doing it in the high-expectation fishbowl of New York ratchets up the intensity even more. But next year, Daboll and Saleh won’t just be measured by what their teams do on the field, they’ll be constantly measured against what these teams might’ve looked like if someone else were running beside them onto those fields.
Jackson has a big week ahead of him at the Reese’s Senior Bowl. His production, size, and conference all work against him, albeit he did catch four of eight passes for 83 yards and a touchdown against Ole Miss in Week 2 of the 2023 season.
