Robert Saleh: Jets’ identity won’t ‘reveal itself until we see adversity’

The Jets haven’t had a true identity since Rex Ryan roamed the sidelines.

Ryan, for better or worse, brought a boisterous, underdog personality to the Jets, and his players embodied it. Todd Bowles and Adam Gase, however, didn’t do much to give the Jets a particular identity — unless you count sloppy play and losing an identity.

Robert Saleh now offers an opportunity to do better in that regard this season. But he won’t go so far as to pinpoint what his version of the Jets will look like.

“The identity of the team is going to happen organically,” he said Thursday. “If you try to force-feed an identity to what you want it to be as an individual, I think sometimes you counteract what you want to get done. And that’s an organic identity that will flow a heck of a lot more than something that’s force-fed.”

So far this offseason, the reviews on Saleh have been solid. Players and coaches love his style and he’s already provided positive development for a lot of the Jets’ young players. But as far as an identity goes, Saleh said that won’t come until the team actually hits the field.

“Our identity is not going to reveal itself until we see adversity,” he added. “Everyone loves being a part of winning and everyone loves being a part of good things. But what’s going to happen when you hit adversity and things are not going your way?”

When the Jets of old faced adversity, they folded. Ryan’s Jets imploded following two consecutive AFC championship appearances. Bowles’ teams slowly got worse and lacked any sort of enthusiasm. Gase’s teams never truly got off the ground and it seemed like the coaching staff and players were constantly on opposite pages.

That appears to have changed with Saleh, though, who’s already noticed a difference in his players.

“It’s been a great offseason. The guys have been incredibly receptive,” Saleh said. “But when we get those adversity moments – the dog days of summer, the preseason games, or we might have an injury and some guys might have to take extra reps – they’re the moments that are going to define this team, shape the leadership of this team, shape the identity of this team, and propel us into the season. How we handle those moments is what’s going to build us for not only this year, but for years to come.

“So it’s cool that there’s a positive outlook. But we haven’t even scratched the surface yet in terms of what the overall outlook of this organization is going to be.”