ESPN's outlandish Robert Saleh projection is anti-Jets hysteria at its finest

In the grand spirit of making NFL predictions by assuming that anything that makes the New York Jets look bad will come to pass, ESPN's Ben Solak believes former head coach Robert Saleh will thrive now that he is a member of the Tennessee Titans.

Solak declared that Saleh is his pick to win Coach of the Year on Mina Kimes' podcast, stating that he thinks Saleh can take a Titans team that was 3-14 last year to a 9-8 record in 2026. That six-win improvement could come on the back of their offseason spending spree.

Apparently, the coach who never had a winning season in four years and bungled the development of one former top quarterback is now going to fix everything up now that he's wearing baby blue instead of dark green. Funny how that works.

Ben Solak says former New York Jets coach Robert Saleh will win Coach of the Year

Saleh is essentially trying to test the theory that the New York market and general Jets-evil voodoo are the only reasons he didn't thrive. Not only did he add over a half-dozen former Jets players, including Jermaine Johnson II, Tony Adams, and John Franklin-Myers, but he also hired former Jets coaches like Aaron Whitecotton and Tony Oden. Even Tanzel Smart is on this coaching staff!

Saleh also brought in key contributors from Brian Daboll's New York Giants. In addition to Daboll and quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney coming to Nashville, Tennessee spent a good chunk of change on former Big Blue members Wan'Dale Robinson, Austin Schlottmann, and Cor'Dale Flott in free agency.

Can the Giants' offense and Jets' defense combine to build a winner, especially when they aren't wearing that shade of Gotham green that apparently makes everyone check their football talent and common sense at the door when they enter Florham Park city limits? Solak seems to think so, despite the daunting path that faces them.

Not only do Saleh's Titans need to figure out if Cam Ward even has the ability to become a franchise quarterback while working with one of the worst offensive lines in the AFC, but they have to fight off a 13-win Jaguars team from last year and a Texans team that is very much a Super Bowl contender.

The Jets will get the opportunity to show Saleh that he still has quite a mountain to climb in Week 1, but that game could provide an equally valid opportunity for Saleh to dunk all over his former employers. The Jets will need to show they are truly turning it around to beat Saleh and start off 1-0 in 2026.

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