Robert Saleh has joined the Green Bay Packers’ coaching staff less than three weeks after he was fired as the head coach of the New York Jets.
Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur said Saleh will work with the Packers in a “fluid” role, per ESPN. That reportedly entails the defensive-minded Saleh offering advice and perspective to Green Bay’s offensive staff, which includes LaFleur, who is in charge of calling plays.
Saleh spent part of Wednesday’s practice watching the Packers’ offense, per ESPN. LaFleur said Saleh will also work with the team on Thursday ahead of Sunday’s game at the Jacksonville Jaguars.
LaFleur and Saleh have long been friends and were graduate assistants together for the Central Michigan University football team in 2004. Saleh helped LaFleur land his first NFL coaching job in 2008, convincing then-Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak to hire LaFleur as an assistant.
Saleh was fired by the Jets on Oct. 8, two days after a 23-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London that dropped New York to 2-3.
The Jets entered the season with a presumably solid chance to end a 13-year playoff drought, the longest in the NFL, especially with quarterback Aaron Rodgers returning from a torn Achilles he sustained in the 2023 opener.
But the team sputtered over the first five weeks, and the Minnesota loss prompted owner Woody Johnson to fire Saleh after he went just 20-36 over three-plus seasons as head coach. New York is 0-2 under interim coach and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich and has lost four straight games.
The Jets (2-5) and Packers (5-2) do not meet in the regular season.
