The Jets have done this dance before. And while they haven't won the dance-off with their coaching picks, they seem to do well with this type of dance partner.
In fact, it was about a decade ago when the Jets brass bagged a theatrical, if not maniacal, defensive coordinator to become head coach. And that coach, Rex Ryan, with his throaty, demonstrative style, led Gang Green to the AFC title game in his first two seasons as head coach. He landed like an asteroid on NYC, his irreverent assertions about not kissing Belichick's ring helping get fans fired up, while also galvanizing his own guys.
So when the Jets announced former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh as their new head coach, they checked off a few cool boxes beyond those required by the Rooney Rule. The fact that Saleh is the first Muslim to become an NFL head coach is pretty neat. But it's his shaved head, sideline demeanor, and gargoyle toughness that remind them of better times under a fellow defense-first kind of guy. Sure, Ryan is a layer of blubber bigger than Saleh, who looks like one of those sweat-equity maniacs training UFC fighters. In fact, Saleh even looks a bit like Dana White, the high priest of the Octagon who, like Saleh, looks like he can arbitrarily armbar someone just because he felt like it.
But despite their vast difference in appearance, Ryan and Saleh believe in an angry approach to defense, which will surely bleed into their overall coaching credos. Most sports of domination, of imposing your will upon your opponent, often have parallel goals about testing and besting your foe's manhood.
Football, among other violent endeavors, shares certain fist-fighting codas – such as the notion that you can lose a fight before you throw a single punch, or even enter the arena. Vince Lombardi said that fatigue makes cowards of us all. Indeed, tired fighters are always vulnerable to knockout from one punch, and from a weaker puncher.
Ryan stuck like a web to Gotham's core characteristic: toughness. Not only are New Yorkers tough, we're also quick to brag about it, as though we're walking billboards.
The New Yorker's native hubris fit perfectly with Ryan's gaseous sermons. And it doesn't take a top-flight telescope to see how fired up Saleh is on the 49ers sideline, hopping from player to player, shoving their broad chests or slapping their high helmets in approval. Indeed, Saleh is so emotional pacing the sideline like a tiger that his team of defenders occasionally sneak into the sideline beyond his long reach, lest they get slapped around by their rambunctious boss.
Saleh, 41, was on the short list for almost every NFL team with a coaching vacancy.
Jacksonville jumped on Urban Meyer because of his college dominance and his insight into the current crop of Division I players, and while no one doubts Meyer's five-star performance as a college coach, jumping to the NFL is not a guaranteed proposition. In fact, Jimmy Johnson is the only one who jumped from his legendary college perch and found instant fame, fortune, and victory in the NFL.
It's more likely that someone with recent and rigorous NFL coaching experience can win in his maiden NFL head coaching job. Someone like Bill Belichick, or John Harbaugh, or Mike Tomlin, or Pete Carroll, or Sean McVay, or Kyle Shanahan or Scott McDermott or Matt LaFleur. What's the average age of McVay, Shanahan, McDermott, and LaFleur? 40 1/2 years old. Almost the exact age of Saleh as he commandeers Gang Green's head coaching gig.
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