Jets' Robert Saleh welcoming adversity in first season as head coach

Robert Saleh is getting his first crack at being an NFL head coach, and it's going to be no easy task trying to turn things around for an embattled New York Jets team that only tallied two wins last season.

As Saleh told Albert Breer of SI.com, he is looking at the grind as a chance for real growth.

"I think that’s when teams have their greatest amount of growth—it’s through adversity," Saleh said. "And so with training camp, that’s what I’m most excited for. I wanna see how people respond."

Saleh took the job in New York following a successful stint as the San Francisco 49ers' defensive coordinator that garnered him many suitors with head coach roles to fill. He acknowledged a positive offseason has given him some high hopes thanks to the newly formed group of coaches already getting along so well — not to mention excitement over rookie quarterback Zach Wilson having the potential to end the Jets' long run without a solid franchise QB.

“Call it the greatest honeymoon in the world, if you want. It’s been great," Saleh said of the offseason.

The 42-year-old coach is also remaining realistic. The Jets have a big task ahead of them getting out of the AFC East cellar and competing with the likes of the Buffalo Bills and New England Patriots.

Saleh appears to be totally fine with that.

"I’m genuinely excited for adversity," he continued. "Because a lot of different things are going to pop up. There are coaches that are going to find out about themselves. There’s the scouts and the GM, there’s myself, the players, the training staff. Everybody’s going to find out a little more about themselves when adversity hits."

In the meantime, Saleh is just ready to get the preseason started.

"The whole thing is gonna be exciting," he said. "We’ve got a super, super young group of guys, and it’s going to be exciting to see them grow because they’re all made of the right stuff, they have a tremendous mindset and their growth is gonna happen. It’s a matter of coaching our tails off and giving them every opportunity to compete.”