Robert Saleh joins Matt LaFleur from the Packers in a “fluid” role

GREEN BAY, Wis. — It didn't take long for Robert Saleh to find work.

A little more than two weeks after being released by the New York Jets, Saleh was on the Green Bay Packers practice field Wednesday in a new role.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur, who credits Saleh with helping him break into the NFL coaching ranks, has hired his longtime friend to assist the team.

Saleh spent the first part of practice watching the offensive side of the ball.

“Yeah, I think it helps,” LaFleur said. “It helps to have a defensive mind that talks offensively and helps us with things that he might be able to see, things like that, things that the defense might be looking for.”

He added: “I think he has a first class defensive mind. But that’s why I want him on the offensive side so he can help us attack the defense.”

LaFleur said Saleh will coach the team this week through Thursday, calling his role “fluid.” Saleh was at LaFleur's home this week.

Saleh and LaFleur first worked together as assistants at Central Michigan University in 2004. They shared an apartment that had two beds and a kitchen table, but no chairs.

In 2008, Saleh persuaded then-Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak to bring LaFleur on board as an offensive assistant. They are so close that LaFleur was the best man at Saleh's wedding. Saleh once hired LaFleur's brother Mike as his offensive coordinator with the Jets (2021-22).

Out of respect for their friendship, Saleh said during the 2023 offseason, when the Jets were negotiating trade terms with the Packers to acquire Aaron Rodgers, that he and LaFleur agreed not to talk about the quarterback and leave the deals to each team's general managers Trade.

Saleh also previously worked with Jeff Hafley, the Packers' first-year defensive coordinator, although Saleh will not assist on that side of the ball in Green Bay. Hafley was the defensive line coach for the San Francisco 49ers from 2016 to 2018. Saleh became the Niners' defensive coordinator in 2017, a position he held until the Jets hired him in 2021.

But Saleh won't do anything with Hafley's side of the ball.

“No, I don’t want that. I think Haf and our defensive team have a great thing going on right now,” LaFleur said. “And I trust them completely, so I think it's the first year, he has to kind of go through it himself. So I don’t want to do that.”

Jets owner Woody Johnson fired Saleh on Oct. 8 after a 2-3 start to a season that began with high expectations given Rodgers' return from a ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered in the 2023 opener. Saleh went 20-36 in three-plus seasons and never led the Jets to a playoff appearance.

Saleh could not be reached by reporters in Green Bay on Wednesday. LaFleur joked that he told Saleh to take some time off after he was released by the Jets.

“Well, I told him to do that, but he didn’t listen,” LaFleur said. “So, yeah, I think it just shows how much he loves the game of football and was. Of course it's hard when something is taken away from you. And I don't think it was the right decision (to fire Saleh). ), but I can't say that.

Packers quarterback Jordan Love said he hasn't asked Rodgers about Saleh, but he likes the idea of ​​looking at the offense from a different perspective.

“It helps to have a defensive mind that talks about offense and helps us with things that he might be able to see, similar scheme stuff, things that the defense might be looking for,” Love said.

The Packers will not play the Jets this season.

This isn't the first time LaFleur has expanded his staff midseason. He hired Aubrey Pleasant in November 2022, shortly after he was fired as the Lions' defensive backs coach. Pleasant assisted LaFleur and the offensive staff for the remainder of the season.