The New York Jets are on the hunt for a new defensive coordinator, and a couple of big names are already being floated-Matt Eberflus and Jonathan Gannon among them. While the Jets are sticking with Aaron Glenn as their head coach despite a rocky first season, the broader NFL coaching carousel is in full swing, with nine teams making moves at the top.
One of those vacancies has already been filled: the New York Giants landed John Harbaugh in a major hire. That leaves eight teams still in the process of sorting through candidates, and one name that keeps surfacing is a familiar one-former Jets head coach Robert Saleh.
Saleh, currently serving as San Francisco’s defensive coordinator, is still in the playoff mix. He’ll be on the sidelines this Saturday when the 49ers take on the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional Round.
But even with postseason responsibilities, Saleh’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing. He interviewed Thursday evening for head coaching jobs with both the Arizona Cardinals and the Miami Dolphins, and he’s scheduled for a virtual sit-down with the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
Despite a 20-36 record over three and a half seasons in New York, Saleh is drawing serious interest across the league. And it’s not hard to see why.
His time with the Jets was turbulent-navigating a roster in flux and the high-stakes drama that came with the Aaron Rodgers era-but his defensive acumen has never been in question. Around the league, there’s a growing sense that Saleh deserves another shot, and this hiring cycle might just be his moment.
Each of the teams he’s speaking with presents a different kind of challenge. The Cardinals and Dolphins offer warm climates, but not much in the way of long-term roster stability.
Tennessee, on the other hand, is in the midst of a rebuild but has something Saleh never had in New York: a clear-cut franchise quarterback in Cam Ward. That alone could make the Titans an intriguing landing spot.
Whether Saleh ends up back in a head coaching role or remains one of the league’s top defensive minds, his name is one of the hottest in this year’s coaching market. And with interviews lined up and playoff games to coach, he’s got no shortage of opportunities to remind the league what he brings to the table.