DDonald Trump’s rallies tend to go off-topic, but it was still surprising when he decided to declare that Robert Saleh, who has only held a head coaching job in the NFL since 2021, is “greater than Vince Lombardi”. The 45th President of the US made the statement in reference to the Week 2 New York Jets’ comeback win against the Cleveland Browns.
While Saleh has shown lots of promise, and seems to be guiding a turbulent Jets franchise in the right direction, it is laughable to put him on the same plane as the two-time Super Bowl champion (and 5-time NFL Champion) Vince Lombardi . The literal namesake of the Super Bowl trophy.
Trump’s decision to praise the Jets while at a political rally in North Carolina is likely due to the New York franchise’s owner Woody Johnson being in attendance. Trump and Johnson are close political allies, and the former President had actually appointed the Jets’ owner as ambassador to the United Kingdom during his tenure.
Robert Saleh is the first Muslim head coach in NFL history is also the fourth Arab-American head coach (of Lebanese descent) of the league. He has a combined record of 5 wins and 14 losses in his two seasons New Yorkbut seems to be doing well despite being in the fiercely competitive AFC East, winning which he has to battle with the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, and New England Patriots for a playoff berth.
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