On the day the Jets introduced Robert Saleh as their new coach, they also said that general manager Joe Douglas has more power.
Saleh will now report directly to Douglas, and Douglas will report to owners Woody and Christopher Johnson. The last three GM / Jets trainer combinations reported directly to the Johnsons, making them the same across the organization. Now Douglas has been given a push, a sign of the Johnson’s belief in his GM.
“That structure has changed,” said Christopher Johnson. “Joe will report to me [and Woody]. Robert will report to Joe. It seems like a clean and simple way of doing things, but honestly, it doesn’t change much. We already have very good communication. I don’t think it will really change things here very much. “
The organizational structure had been a point of consternation for Jets fans, but many teams around the league (about half) had the same structure. The problem with the Jets is the people who occupy these positions, not to whom they report.
Woody Johnson is expected to regain control of the team soon, as his term as ambassador to the United Kingdom ended on Wednesday. Christopher Johnson, who led the team in Woody’s absence, will retain a large role in the organization, but Woody will again be the final decision maker.
The Jets officially announced the hiring of Mike LaFleur as the offensive coordinator and Jeff Ulbrich as the defensive coordinator. LaFleur arrives at the 49ers’ Jets, for which he was coordinator of the passing game. Ulbrich was the coach of the Falcons linebackers before being promoted to defensive coordinator after the team sacked Dan Quinn and promoted Raheem Morris to acting coach.
Saleh has not yet hired a special team coordinator, but said he will retain Brant Boyer, who has been with Jets since 2016, when former coach Todd Bowles hired him. He said he is also considering hiring defense coach Dennard Wilson, who has been with the Jets since 2017.
The other signings for the team that Saleh announced were: Rob Calabrese (quarterbacks), John Benton (offensive line), Taylor Embree (running backs), Ron Middleton (tight ends), Miles Austin (wide receivers), Greg Knapp (games specialist) passing), Billy VandeMerkt (offensive assistant), Aaron Whitecotton (defensive line), Nate Ollie (defensive line assistant), Ricky Manning Jr. (defensive assistant), Hayes Pullard (defensive assistant).
Saleh also hired three coaches from Adam Gase’s team: Todd Washington (offensive assistant), Mack Brown (offensive assistant) and Chip Vaughn (defensive assistant).
Saleh spoke highly of DT Quinnen Williams. The 49ers had the second overall choice in 2019 when the Jets recruited Williams in third overall, so Saleh observed Williams.
“I absolutely love Quinnen,” said Saleh. “I am very excited to take the seat belt out of the seat belt and let it go. In this scheme to place it vertically, to make all that mass move in the direction it needs to go, I am very excited about the potential it will have. I loved him going out. Obviously, we took [Nick] Bosa. He was there as part of the discussion. I can assure you of that. With regard to this young man, his mentality, his athletics, his power, his love for football, very, very excited to see him in our system, especially in the front with the way we designed with this style of attack in the front. “