ORLANDO, Fla. – Robert Saleh is entering his fourth year as the Jets head coach. While he is happy with the moves the Jets have made this offseason, he knows nothing about the winter or spring matters if the Jets don’t win this fall.
“The reality is winning offseasons doesn’t matter,” Saleh said Monday at the NFL’s owners’ meetings.
“We’ve got to win football games. No matter how much excitement there is around the organization. No matter how much excitement there is around free agency or the draft, none of it matters. Just got to keep our heads down and find ways to get better and continue to have a great offseason. When we get to the season, we’ve got to find a way to put Ws in the win column.”
That is something the Jets have struggled to do in Saleh’s three years as coach with the team 18-33 during that time. Overall, the team has not had a winning season since 2015.
Jets owner Woody Johnson recently expressed his displeasure with the 2023 season, demanding better in 2024.
Saleh knows that fans are unhappy with him and general manager Joe Douglas after back-to-back 7-10 seasons.
“When you lose, you’re a loser. I suck. Joe D sucks. We all suck,” Saleh said. “It goes with the territory. The best thing we can do is put our heads down. We’ve got to go to work. All the feel good of the offseason doesn’t matter. We’ve got to win football games and when we win football games, all the narratives will change.”
The Jets signed offensive tackle Tyron Smith and wide receiver Mike Williams in splashy moves over the past week.
They also signed Tyrod Taylor to backup Aaron Rodgers at quarterback and signed veteran tackle Javon Kinlaw.
Saleh would not say that the 2024 season will be a failure if the Jets miss the playoffs.
“I’ll never say that,” Saleh said. “Like I said, put your head down, do the best you can, put your work in. Obviously, we all want to win games, we all want to go to the playoffs, we all want to win championships. That’s been the goal since the day we walked in here. I felt like we were going to have that opportunity last year. It didn’t happen. This year is about picking ourselves up, putting our heads down and just working.”
As for a report from The Athletic in January that described dysfunction in the organization, Saleh said that happens when you lose.
“When you don’t achieve what you’re supposed to achieve, people are going to take their shots,” Saleh said. “That’s fine. … I feel really good about where our organization is. Outside noise is outside noise. … The only way you’re going to change the narrative is by winning.”
