The former Jets head coach is finally reunited with one of his best friends.
The close relationship between Robert Saleh and Matt LaFleur is well-known. Saleh was LaFleur’s best man at his wedding, as the two go way back to their days together as graduate assistants and roommates at Central Michigan University.
With that shared history and friendship, it should be no surprise that the Green Bay Packers’ head coach reached out to Saleh, who was recently fired from the same job with the New York Jets. The two are finally able to work together for the first time in 15 years, with Saleh helping provide his buddy LaFleur with a different perspective on the Green Bay offense.
Saleh’s defenses have given LaFleur plenty of trouble in the past. As a defensive coordinator in 2019, Saleh helped the 49ers defeat LaFleur’s Packers twice, first a 37-8 regular season victory and then a 37-20 win in the NFC Championship Game. His only meeting against LaFleur as head coaches was a Saleh win as well, as the Zach Wilson-led Jets defeated the Packers 27-10 in 2022. Saleh’s 49ers also beat a Tennessee Titans team 25-23 in 2017 when LaFleur was that team’s offensive coordinator.
Given those results, there may be no better person to help identify gaps in the Packers’ offensive scheme than Saleh. Packers fans should be excited that he will be on board helping the team rather than ending up somewhere else looking for ways to defeat them.