Jets' Sauce Gardner addresses Robert Saleh criticisms

New York Jets star cornerback Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner backed Robert Saleh after a story published by The Athletic last week said that Saleh is a "paranoid head coach" who threatened to take cell phones away from staffers this past season to prevent leaks from reaching reporters. 

"He’s a great coach, man," Gardner said about Saleh during a chat with Newsday on Thursday. "I don’t think he’s paranoid. I don’t know what he could be paranoid about. I’ve been off social media a little bit in terms of reading stuff. Most of the stuff on social media [is] negative. I don’t really [read it]." 

The information in The Athletic piece, aside, the fact remains that Saleh went 18-33 across his first three seasons as New York's head coach and probably only has his job today because quarterback Aaron Rodgers wants to run it back with the same crew after Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles four offensive snaps into the team's Week 1 game against the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 11. 

Nevertheless, Gardner insisted that Saleh is "a great coach" regardless of what outsiders think about the situation. 

"I feel like he knows what it takes," Gardner added about Saleh. "He’s everything I could ask for when it comes to a coach and he’s a defensive head coach as well, man. He’s that guy." 

Jets owner Woody Johnson spoke with reporters on Thursday and strongly indicated that Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas are both on the hot seat now that the franchise has missed the playoffs for 13 straight seasons, the longest active postseason drought among the four major North American sports leagues. Gardner noted that his main goal this winter is to "make the Super Bowl," and he sounds convinced he can do just that with the Jets as soon as next February. 

"I’m confident because I know that other guys around me are confident as well," Gardner explained. "There’s a lot of confidence going on. We’ve got to make it happen. We’ve got to make it work." 

Johnson's comments coupled with demands from an angry fan base suggest Saleh will need the Jets to earn at least a playoff win in January 2025 to be with the organization at this time next year. Saleh, Johnson and everybody else associated with the franchise will first spend the spring hoping that Rodgers looks as good as new when training camp sessions begin.