Former New York Jets coach Robert Saleh was back on an NFL practice field Wednesday helping out the Green Bay Packers two weeks after getting fired from his old job.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur said Saleh, whose primary background is on defense, will be monitoring Green Bay’s offense. LaFleur said Saleh would remain with the Packers through Thursday.
LaFleur was noncommittal about how much Saleh might assist the Packers in this informal role the rest of the season. LaFleur said on multiple occasions that the situation is “pretty fluid.”
“I just think it’s a good opportunity, I mean, for him to learn and also for him to help us and give us perspective on how teams might see us, how they might defend us,” LaFleur said. “Certainly can find holes in, or some vulnerabilities if you will in the defense that we’re playing. So yeah, that’s how we’re going to use him.”
LaFleur and Saleh are old friends who roomed together while working as graduate assistants at Central Michigan about two decades ago. They worked together as Houston Texans assistants from 2008-09, and LaFleur was the best man in Saleh’s wedding. The two did not have any involvement in discussions leading up to the trade that sent four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers from the Packers to the Jets in 2023, recusing themselves due to their close friendship, according to ESPN.
So it wasn’t any surprise that they talked immediately after the Jets fired Saleh on Oct. 8. Saleh had a 20-36 record as the Jets’ coach.
The Jets were 2-3 at the time they fired Saleh. They have since fallen to the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers with Saleh’s former defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich working as interim head coach.
“I didn’t try to put any pressure on him whatsoever,” LaFleur said. “I just said, ‘Hey, if you want to stay involved or whatever, the opportunity would be here if you wanted it.’ “
LaFleur compared this situation to the role Aubrey Pleasant had on Green Bay’s staff two years ago. After the Detroit Lions fired Pleasant as defensive backs coach that season, he worked as an offensive consultant with the Packers. Pleasant now is the Los Angeles Rams‘ defensive backs coach and defensive pass game coordinator.
Although Saleh primarily worked on defense during his years as an NFL assistant, he will be studying Green Bay’s offense. The Packers (5-2) are carrying a three-game winning streak into Sunday’s game at Jacksonville (2-5).
“I think he’s got an elite defensive mind,” LaFleur said. “But that’s why I want him on the offensive side, so he can help us attack the defenses.”
Packers quarterback Jordan Love agreed that Saleh’s input could be beneficial.
“I think it just helps with understanding what the defense is looking at,” Love said. “You can pick up pointers that defensive coaches, defensive minds see and offensive guys might not think about. I think that’s the main thing that helps.”
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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