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MOBILE, Ala. — As one of three minority head coaches in the NFL, Jets coach Robert Saleh has perspective on the allegations that Brian Flores made in his lawsuit against the NFL this week.
Saleh interviewed for several jobs before landing the Jets job in 2021, but Saleh said he never felt like he was only being interviewed by a team to fulfill the requirements of the Rooney Rule. Saleh is Lebanese and is believed to be the first Muslim Arab-American head coach in the NFL.
“No,” Saleh said when asked if he ever felt he was just interviewed to check a box. “I can only speak for me and my experiences. You try to do good by people. I’m an eternal optimist so I always see the good in people. That one’s a tough one for me.”
Flores, who coached the Dolphins for the past three seasons, sued the NFL and accused the Giants and Broncos of “sham” interviews. Saleh acknowledged the league has a problem with its minority hiring but said he believes things will improve.
“Everyone has their own philosophy on how it can happen and how it can happen better,” Saleh said at the Senior Bowl on Wednesday. “I could sit here for hours and talk about our experiences here with the Jets and what we try to do but I do think with the leadership of Troy Vincent and all the different people at the NFL office, I know they’re working diligently to try to rectify and thrust minorities into prominent roles. Is it tough right now? For sure, but I know the NFL is trying hard and eventually it’s going to get there.”
Saleh praised Flores as a coach and a man.
“He’s a phenomenal coach,” Saleh said. “Always gives us a headache anywhere he’s ever been. Just a standup guy to talk to pregame and postgame. I really appreciate the interactions I’ve had with him. He’s a really, really good man.”
The Jets went young at cornerback last year and had some success with Bryce Hall, Brandin Echols and Michael Carter II. Saleh said now those three need to take the next step and get more interceptions.
“The challenge for our corners is going to be to find the ball,” Saleh said. “I’ll speak for Bryce Hall who had a really, really nice season this year. He knows he had some [opportunities] to get about three or four interceptions this year. That’s going to be his next step. I thought he did a really nice job as a starter this year and really evolved as the year went on.”
Echols had two interceptions but Hall and Carter II had none.
“The challenge for those three is to find the ball,” Saleh said, “and once they do that they’ll be right there with the upper echelon in this league.”
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