The New York Jets don’t need a get back coach, they need a get back staff

One of the more interesting jobs in football, at any level, is that of the “get back” coach. Often a strength and conditioning coordinator, this coach is responsible for keeping players, and sometimes head coaches, from encroaching onto the field and potentially drawing a penalty.

From the looks of things, the New York Jets might not need a single get back coach, but an entire staff.

The Jets are 4-2, Sauce Gardner is wearing a Cheesehead after playing like an elite cornerback, and fans in New York are giddy. To that point, Jets owner Woody Johnson posted a quick video on social media highlighting head coach Robert Saleh, who just cannot contain himself on the Jets’ sideline this season.

He can be seen racing down to the end zone multiple times — and then gesturing to his sideline to get back when noticed by a referee — or sprinting onto the field to call a timeout. Multiple times you see coaches trying, in vain, to keep him on the sideline:

The coach often seen trying to get Saleh back to the sidelines? That is Mike Nicolini, the Jets’ Head Strength and Conditioning Coach. He was hired by New York in March of 2021, after spending three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers.

One of his tasks while in San Francisco?

Keep Saleh, then the 49ers defensive coordinator, on the sideline:

Saleh himself has conceded that he loses track of himself in those moments. During his time in San Francisco, he had this to say after one particular celebratory incident on the sideline. “I’m not going to lie,” Saleh said back in 2019, “I black out during those moments. I get excited for the guys and their success. When they make big plays, I feel like I’m right there with them.”

That might make Sundays tough for Nicolini and the rest of the Jets staff as they try and get Saleh back to the sidelines. But if the Jets keep on playing — and winning — like they are right now, it is a task those coaches are sure to enjoy in the long run.