Here is who the Dallas Cowboys could be getting in Robert Saleh.
The Dallas Cowboys are reportedly going to hold their first official interview for the head coach position, and no, it’s not Deion Sanders. Former Jets head coach Robert Saleh is reportedly set to interview in Dallas.
The #Cowboys have interest in and are expected to interview former #Jets coach Robert Saleh for the vacant head coach position, source said. Would be their first known request.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 15, 2025
Saleh, of course, made headlines as the first coach fired in 2024. The Jets moved on from him just five games into his fourth season despite having a 2-3 record and finally getting to coach more than a minute with Aaron Rodgers under center. The Jets only won three more games the rest of the year and looked considerably worse without him.
Saleh came to the Jets after four seasons running the 49ers defense under Kyle Shanahan. He was a heavily-coveted candidate in that cycle, with many anticipating the Michigan native would return home to coach the Lions. Detroit instead hired Dan Campbell, which has worked out very well for them, and Saleh went to the Jets.
Saleh finished his Jets tenure with a 20-36 record, never once having a winning season, though many feel he was undermined by a meddlesome owner and a franchise marked by years of dysfunction. Naturally, he’s a perfect fit for the Cowboys, right? Saleh has already interviewed with both the Jaguars and Raiders, and apparently will with Dallas as well. Let’s take a look at how he’d fit with America’s Team.
Defensive acumen
Saleh is a defensive coach through and through. After serving on Gary Kubiak’s Texans staff for some time, Saleh made his way to Seattle, assisting with the formation of the Seahawks’ Legion of Boom defense. When defensive coordinator Gus Bradley took the Jaguars head coaching job, Saleh followed as his linebackers coach.
That led to Saleh getting hired in San Francisco by Shanahan, who he had coached alongside back in Houston. Defensively, Saleh’s scheme is very similar to Carroll’s and, by extension, Dan Quinn’s. He favors a defense that doesn’t blitz much but instead uses stunts to create free rushers and tries to clog up the middle of the field in coverage.
Saleh’s time in San Francisco saw him tweak his scheme, just as Quinn tweaked his own in Dallas. Saleh incorporated more Wide 9 defensive line alignments to better position his stacked cast of pass rushers, at one point consisting of five former first-round picks.
With the Jets, Saleh kept his defensive scheme intact, though he didn’t call the plays. Still, New York was very successful on that side of the ball, ranking in the top 10 in EPA/play in both 2022 and 2023. He also oversaw the development of several young stars, such as Sauce Gardner, Quinnen Williams, Quincy Williams, Jermaine Johnson, and Will McDonald.
Strong coaching roots
Saleh has coached under some really impressive head coaches in the past. His second coaching gig came at Central Michigan under current LSU coach Brian Kelly, which is where he first met current Packers head coach Matt LaFleur, then a graduate assistant.
He was briefly part of Mark Richt’s Georgia Bulldogs staff before joining the Texans, where he met the likes of Kyle Shanahan, Mike McDaniel, DeMeco Ryans, and later reunited with LaFleur. As mentioned above, Saleh then came to the Seahawks, where he cut his teeth in the Pete Carroll school of football.
His time in Houston, though, laid the foundation for Saleh to be Shanahan’s first call as 49ers head coach. His close relationship with LaFleur, who was the best man at Saleh’s wedding, also led to Saleh joining the Packers as an offensive consultant this season after his firing in New York. Quite simply, he’s been around several very successful coaches in his career.
Offensive scheme
As is the question for any defensive-minded head-coaching candidate, Saleh will be asked who he’d hire to be his offensive coordinator. The answer is very simple, though. Saleh is a believer in the Shanahan style of offense, which is predicated on the West Coast wide zone that’s taken the league by storm.
His ties to Shanahan and LaFleur motivate this preference, and Saleh’s first coordinator with the Jets was Mike LaFleur, brother of the Packers coach. The Jets swapped that LaFleur out for Nathaniel Hackett, who had been Matt LaFleur’s coordinator in Green Bay, in an attempt to lure Aaron Rodgers to the Jets. It worked, but the offense sure didn’t.
Still, Saleh is very clearly committed to that strain of offense, and his coordinator hire would surely reflect that. He may try to bring back Mike LaFleur, who is currently the Rams offensive coordinator but doesn’t call plays. He could also try to poach an assistant from the Packers, Rams, or 49ers, or go after Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who has interviewed with several teams for coordinator openings already and whose brother is a scout for the Cowboys.
Either way, Saleh has strong ties to the Shanahan style of offense and would almost certainly seek to bring in a coordinator with that kind of background.
Leadership ability
Saleh’s head coaching candidacy back when the Jets hired him was very much in the mold of the classic “leader of men” trope. A fiery personality with an innate ability to connect with his players, Saleh’s coaching style is very similar to that of Dan Quinn, which isn’t a coincidence given they both cut their teeth under Pete Carroll in Seattle.
Many have given Saleh credit for leading the Jets to consecutive 7-10 seasons his last full two years as head coach despite issues at quarterback. In 2022, the Jets benched former second overall pick Zach Wilson, but remained in the playoff hunt up until the end. The next year, they were forced to go back to Wilson when Rodgers was injured just a minute into his season, and the team still remained competitive.
Even when Saleh was fired, reports from inside the Jets suggested that it was not a move players wanted and that many were shocked by the decision. The sharp decline of the team, especially on defense, after Saleh’s firing offers a hint into the leadership presence that Saleh brought.
Experience, but not the kind you want
The Cowboys are likely looking for a coach with prior head coaching experience, so Saleh checks off that box. But it isn’t exactly the experience you want. Mike McCarthy got fired in Green Bay, but he had also won a Super Bowl. Ditto for Bill Parcells. Saleh has never had a winning season as head coach.
Perhaps even worse are the circumstances of his tenure with the Jets. Owner Woody Johnson was heavily involved in personnel decisions, reportedly vetoing a trade due to Madden ratings. Saleh was also involved in personnel decisions, working closely with general manager Joe Douglas, but the two were never able to overrule their owner. Saleh reportedly preferred Derek Carr over Rodgers, but the owner pushed for the mercurial former Packers star.
The Cowboys won’t offer a drastically different setup. Will McClay remains the ringleader of the draft, but Jerry Jones is still the primary decision maker. Saleh’s inability to win any battles with his owner is an alarming concern when thinking about his fit with the Cowboys, especially since he won’t have someone like Douglas to at least push back as a joint front.
Of course, that might be part of the appeal for Jones in Saleh. A well-respected former head coach in league circles who won’t give him much pushback? That sounds like it could very well be the job listing on LinkedIn for Jones and the Cowboys.
