The New York Jets Hire Robert Saleh As First Muslim Head Coach in NFL

The National Football League‘s New York Jets have made history with the hiring of its 20th head coach in franchise history: former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is now the first Muslim head coach in the history of the NFL.

The Jets announced yesterday that it had reached an agreement in principle with Saleh to take over the team.

We’ve reached an agreement in principle with Robert Saleh to become our head coach.

📰 https://t.co/CiIczkN97j pic.twitter.com/NC3nW27uNa

— New York Jets (@nyjets) January 15, 2021

For the past four seasons, Saleh was the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers. Under his direction in 2020, San Francisco had a top-10 defense in total yards (fifth), rush yards (seventh), and pass yards (fourth). Last season, San Francisco finished second overall in the league in total defense, with 281.8 yards per game allowed; the team was first in pass defense with 169.2 pass yards per game allowed. Saleh received The Sporting News‘ Coordinator of the Year award.

Glad to be apart of the @nyjets organization. Got a lot of work to be done but I think we can get the job done.

— Robert Saleh (@RealRobertSaleh) January 15, 2021

News traveled quickly and Saleh was immediately congratulated and recognized.

Jets hire Robert Saleh as new head coach. pic.twitter.com/IO49iPidXy

— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2021

The #Jets chose Robert Saleh as their new head coach in part because of his leadership abilities. Running one of the NFL’s best defenses doesn’t hurt, either. He went into the process believing the Jets had one of the top openings. And he landed it.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 15, 2021

Richard Sherman on Robert Saleh:

“He’s able to rally men, he’s a leader of men”pic.twitter.com/LXcqfQwhWT

— Jets Videos (@snyjets) January 15, 2021

New #Jets HC Robert Saleh is now the first Muslim-American head coach in NFL history.

— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) January 15, 2021