Jets HC Robert Saleh

PRESS CONFERENCE

January 7, 2024

Q: Coach, talk about what this means for the team, the organization, to close the season out the way you did in these elements?

RS: It was really good. You know, proud of the guys. Our locker room, we’ve got a great locker room. We’ve faced a lot of adversity, and to finish the season strong, start 2024 with a win, it’s always special.

Q: Right now I know you try to downplay the losing streak and all that, but happy you don’t have to deal with anyone asking you about that anymore?

RS: Yeah. Credit to them. You’ve got to do something pretty special to be able to have a winning streak like that. Again, like I said, starting 2024 was the most important thing for us, starting it strong with a win, and that was a really good effort from the team today.

Q: Talk about Breece Hall and just him being the bell cow for you all day today.

RS: Yeah, you know, he turned the corner about four – at some point in the second half of the season, right around the Atlanta game. Just completely shifted into where it looked like, one, he was completely healthy, and, two, just the mindset to run and finish and not trying to get the big one but to take what the defense was giving. It’s not a coincidence that it followed with great production. If he continues that mindset and he keeps that going into next year, he’s going to be a problem.

Q: Not long ago you guys were in the early portion of building this program. They ran it up on you guys a little bit. Made a quarterback change. Taking shots all the way down the field. Does it mean anything to you that while this game was close for a while, Bill’s last game with the Patriots is going to be a loss to you and the Jets?

RS: No, like I said, I think it’s more important to just focus on us in this regard and how far we’ve come. Obviously not where any of us want to be or any of us expected to be at this point of the year, but we all know what we have. It may seem like we’re really far away from the outside world, but we all know what we have and we all know how close we are. Like I said, today’s game was about starting 2024 on the right foot, getting a win, and hopefully the first of many in 2024.

Q: How aware were you that Breece Hall was close to 1,000 yards at the end? It sure seemed like you gave him a shot there.

RS: Yeah, we were aware. One of our mathematicians was wrong. We thought he got it, but we were ten yards off. We were trying to get it for him on the last run, otherwise we would’ve taken a knee.

Q: On a personal level, how does it feel to get the better of a Bill Belichick team?

RS: It feels good, you know, just in regard of – you know, we’ve played them throughout my career. He’s been around for a very long time, quality control, linebackers coach, and a d-coordinator, so I’ll give him credit. If you ain’t got no haters you ain’t popping, and he’s been popping for a very, very long time. So whenever you can get a win on him, it’s always special.

Q: Sum up your feelings on the season overall now that it’s over.

RS: Frustrating. Obviously disappointing in that we are going to fall short. But I’m also proud of the guys. We started 4-3, we hit a lull. Last year that lull just kept going into the off-season and we never got a win. We were able to kind of claw our way out and finish winning three of the last five. Like I said, it’s not the way any of us wanted to go. I do appreciate how much everyone fought and grinded through all the adversity that we faced. And like I said, starting this season on the right foot – 2024 on the right foot and getting some positive juice around the organization and the players. Like I said, we know what we’re capable of and we’re a lot closer than I feel like people think.

Q: What gives you optimism outside of Aaron Rodgers coming back next year?

RS: Just the way we finished. Like I said, we won three of our last five. Exercised a lot of demons this year. We beat three playoff teams. We made life hard for a lot of really, really good quarterbacks in this league who are going to the playoffs. We ended this losing streak. Beat Philly for the first time in franchise history. Did a lot of really cool things this year. At the same time, we got a lot of young guys better over the course of the second half of the season on offense when you look at [Jason] Brownlee and Xavier Gipson, even our young guys with Breece [Hall] and Garrett [Wilson] and [Joe] Tippmann and Carter Warren. Got a lot of young guys got a lot of reps. [Jeremy] Ruckert. So there is a lot of really cool things on the offensive side of the ball, and something to look forward to as we continue to build it.

Q: What was the thought on Allen Lazard being a healthy scratch again?

RS: With the weather being what it was, just having an extra punt returner in it the event the young rookie struggled back there. But thought he did a good job today.

Q: Probably some more time to talk about this tomorrow, but Allen Lazard’s season, has that been a big disappointment for you guys?

RS: I think he’s disappointed. If you talk to him I’m sure he’s got a lot of disappointment, too. I’ll say this about Allen, he shows up to work every day, comes to work putting his best foot forward. At the same time, he knows that there are things he has to fix, and we have to help him fix as coaches. I’ll sit here and put a guarantee on it that he’ll have a hell of a lot better 2024 than ’23. He’s made of the right stuff, he’s built the right way and he’s going to attack it and he’s going to find a way to get better.

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