Saleh hearing suggestions, criticisms, even from his mom

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Robert Saleh has heard all kinds of opinions, criticisms and suggestions just two games into his NFL head coaching career.

From fans, media and the Twitterverse. Oh, and Mom.

“She’ll probably kill me — God bless my mother,” the New York Jets coach said Wednesday with a big grin. “Broken English, doesn’t even know how many yards it takes to get a first down and she was coaching me up on what we should tell our receivers.”

At 0-2, the suggestion box is probably open. So what did Saleh’s mother have to say about the Jets’ receiving group?

“I was a little upset at the time, so I’m not sure I took it all in — even though I should’ve,” Saleh said. “I’m pretty sure it was something about the ... I don’t even remember.”

Well, hey, mother knows best, right? Even if her knowledge of football rules is sketchy.

“Everybody’s got an opinion, but you know what? I had an opinion, too,” Saleh said. “You take it with a grain of salt, but I’m not afraid to absorb all the information because you never know what you might find. All of it’s worth something.”

The 42-year-old coach is coming off a 25-6 loss to New England in the home opener, which followed a 19-14 defeat at Carolina in the first game of the season.

“What do you guys think?” Saleh said with a smile when asked how he’d evaluate his in-game decisions so far.

After each game, he meets with Jets game management coach and longtime NFL assistant Matt Burke. They review tape of the plays, calls and everything in between to see what worked, what didn’t and what can be improved.

Saleh even poked fun at himself for throwing the red challenge flag on the Patriots’ second play from scrimmage, when Kendrick Bourne had a 7-yard catch and fumbled the ball. But officials whistled the play over, saying the receiver’s forward progress had been stopped — and it was not reviewable.

Notes

Saleh said rookie quarterback Zach Wilson was dealing with a groin ailment after waking up Monday feeling sore from the game. But the quarterback fully participated in practice and his availability for the game is not in question. “There’s no limitations,” Saleh said. “No worries.” ... WR Jamison Crowder did not practice because of a groin injury that has sidelined him the first two games. Crowder was dealing with the injury before going on the COVID-19 list for the opener and it was still not fully healed heading into Week 2 so he was held out . ... LB Jamien Sherwood was limited after missing the game with an ankle injury. There’s hope Sherwood could return Sunday . ... DL John FranklinMyers sat out practice with a calf ailment, but Saleh said he should be fine to play.