The Jets are sending a smaller contingent to Indianapolis this year.
Robert Saleh and most of his coaching staff won’t attend the NFL Combine, according to multiple reports. Joe Douglas and the Jets scouting department will be there, though.
Saleh is not the only NFL head coach skipping the combine in person. Rams head coach Sean McVay and 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan also won’t be there. Saleh will still join player interviews; he’ll just do them virtually.
Saleh and his staff will spend the week catching up on the scouting reports they missed working on while coaching the Senior Bowl in Mobile earlier this offseason. That time was incredibly valuable for evaluating players, but it took up a lot of time typically dedicated to overall scouting.
The combine isn’t the only time coaches can watch prospects practice, either. Pro Days will still happen before the draft, allowing coaches to get even closer to the players on their home turf. Some marquee draft prospects, including LSU CB Derek Stingley Jr. and Alabama OT Evan Neal, won’t participate in combine workouts.