From Dearborn To the ‘Big Apple’: Meet Robert Saleh, the First Muslim American NFL Head Coach
By: Claire Boyle/Arab America Contributing Writer
The New York Jets football team announced last week that they had hired Robert Saleh as their new head coach. Why is this such great news? Well, for one, Saleh has a proven track record of success in lower-level positions, but perhaps the most important aspect is that history was made. Saleh will become the National Football League’s (NFL) first Muslim American head coach. As a head coach, Saleh will continue to break barriers, influence his players, and hopefully help the Jets build a winning team in the future.
All of these factors are equally important, but did you know that Saleh’s story and rise to the NFL started on the high school football fields of Dearborn, Michigan? His football achievements are amazing, as well as his Arab American heritage and how growing up outside of Detroit has influenced who he is as a coach, husband, father, son, and a proud member of the Dearborn Arab American community.
Dearborn Raised
The city of Dearborn, Michigan holds a special place in the United States as it has the largest “Muslim American population in the country per capita.” Additionally, the city is famous for being the birthplace of Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and its huge contributions to the automotive industry. Ford established the company in Dearborn, and he also hired Arab American immigrants to work in his plants where they were paid five dollars a day in the early 1900s. Thus, Arab Americans, Dearborn, Henry Ford, and Muslim Americans are forever intertwined in this suburb outside of Detroit. Robert Saleh is the son of Dearborn, MI and he is also the new head coach for the New York Jets.
Saleh traces his lineage to his immigrant grandfather who came to Dearborn from Lebanon and worked mostly in the factories. The following generation, more successful than the prior, continued to save money which allowed their children, like Saleh, to attend better schools and become involved in professional careers.
Saleh played football at Fordson High School, which consists of a 95% Arab student body, and grew up in a town where hard work, dedication, and humility meant everything. Saleh’s father also played football at Fordson, as well as numerous family members. Eventually, Fordson grew into a so-called “local powerhouse” and the town became known as the “Muslim community where football is king.”
In addition to his own humility, he came from humble roots but worked his way up. He continued his rise to the top by playing football at Northern Michigan University where Saleh graduated with a degree in finance. He still dreamed of playing in the NFL one day, but a twist of fate on a Tuesday morning in September 2001 would change his entire course.
Redefined Dreams
On September 11, 2001, David Saleh (Robert’s brother) headed to work at the South Tower in the Twin Towers Complex in New York City. David heard that a “bomb had gone off in the North Tower,” not knowing it was an airplane hitting it, and “he ran down 61 flights of stairs to escape. [David gets out in time] just as the other plane hits the South Tower.” This moment would change Robert Saleh’s course in life forever.
From that moment, Saleh decided to chase his dream to be in the NFL someday; however, his plans had changed somewhat. Knowing that he almost lost his brother on 9/11, Saleh said “nothing was guaranteed after that, and every day that came after was a blessing from above.” He knew it would be difficult going forward for the Arab American and Muslim American communities who faced undue harm and unfair discrimination after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Still, Saleh figured out a way to be successful. Saleh decided that more than anything else, he loved coaching. Sure, he loved playing the game, but coaching and teaching seemed to be more attainable for him.
Saleh, the Coach
Saleh held a job in finance before making his big and final decision to chase his dreams. He started out working as a graduate assistant on the football teams of Michigan State, Central Michigan, and the University of Georgia. He worked for these schools for almost a total of four years, and then it was in 2005 that he got his first taste of being in a coaching position in the NFL.
The Houston Texans gave Saleh his first shot as an intern on the team. He worked in various positions such as a quality control coach, an assistant in Seattle and Jacksonville, and in 2017, the San Francisco 49ers hired him as a defensive coordinator.
Saleh, in his highest position at the time, led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in the 2019-2020 season. They ended up losing to the Kansas City Chiefs, but Saleh made his indelible mark upon the franchise, his players, and the NFL as a whole.
Finally, in 2021, his dreams came true as the New York Jets new head coach. One could definitely position his hiring in New York City as a full-circle moment, given that it was almost 20 years ago that Saleh made the realization of being a coach his goal after almost losing his brother in the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Team Player
Robert Saleh will make an excellent head coach especially since the players who have played for him in the past love him. He is a team player in the sense that he respects the players and tries to help them be the best they can be. Some of his former players have talked about how Saleh sets a good example for the team by being “just like one of the players, and even though he does not like mistakes, he will hold them accountable without resorting to screaming or embarrassing them.” In fact, Saleh gets excited about teaching plays to his team and tries to give the players the tools they need to be successful.
Cultural Impact
How will Robert Saleh’s appointment as the NFL head coach position impact Arab American communities?
For one, it gives their communities an increased sense of representation. Perhaps, he will also inspire young Arab American boys and girls from Dearborn or other places to chase their own dreams of making it in professional sports and other venues. Saleh will become the first Muslim American coach in the NFL. He joins elite company as the third Arab American to coach in the league, along with a former coach of the Chicago Bears, Abe Gibran, and Rich Kotite, who worked for the New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles.
Saleh will serve as a role model to a community that has, at times, been unfairly shunned and discriminated against. He will continue to make a difference by being an excellent and respectful coach to his players and fans. Finally, it is exciting to see a man of Arab American descent make it to the so-called “big leagues.” We all hope to see more diversity and inclusion in the NFL, particularly in roles that have been held by non-diverse men. Through his hard work, dedication, and never-giving-up attitude, Saleh has propelled himself to make history.
Congratulations on his appointment to the New York Jets football team!
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