FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- New York Jets coach Robert Saleh has been on the job for three weeks, but he already has set himself apart from Adam Gase in at least one respect: coaching-staff composition.

Saleh's staff, almost complete, is a reunion of sorts -- a collection of coaching colleagues from each of his previous NFL stops. In fact, 11 of his 13 hires for key positions -- coordinators and position coaches -- are coaches he worked with previously. This is a common practice in the industry, but Saleh has taken it to a new level.

In most cases, familiarity is a good thing, especially for a team in transition. If nothing else, it shows Saleh was hands-on during the process, choosing his guys.

That's noteworthy, considering the Jets were criticized in 2019 when the front office scared away head-coaching candidate Matt Rhule because it wanted to pick his staff for him. Rhule was a college coach at the time, and there were concerns about his ability to gather an NFL staff.

The front office also had input into Gase's staff, creating an arranged marriage between him and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who had a big say on some of the defensive hires. In the end, Gase assembled a highly experienced group of coaches, nearly half of whom had no previous ties to him.

That dynamic no longer exists. This is the Saleh ensemble. The upside is they speak the same football language and share a similar philosophy. The downside is that it might limit different ideas.

"One of the most impressive things through the interview process regarding Robert and his staff was just his thought process on the composition of the staff and how he was thinking about different personalities and different roles," Jets general manager Joe Douglas said. "You really walked away saying, 'Wow, Robert has really thought this out the right way.' I would say that was as impressive as any name that he brought up."

Other takeaways on the new staff:

San Francisco East: Seven coaches have a connection to the 49ers, Saleh's previous team, including five from the 2020 staff -- Mike LaFleur (offensive coordinator), John Benton (offensive line/run-game coordinator), Aaron Whitecotton (defensive line), Mike Rutenberg (linebackers) and Tony Oden (senior defensive assistant/cornerbacks). New head coaches always bring along assistants from their previous team, but five is a high number.

Prior to 2020, Miles Austin (wide receivers) and Taylor Embree (running backs) worked for the Niners, overlapping with Saleh. You can bet this will be a factor in NFL free agency. Don't be surprised if a handful of ex-Niner players wind up in New York.

Blasts from the past: Reaching back into his early coaching years, Saleh hired assistants he met with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2014-16), Seattle Seahawks (2011-13) and Houston Texans (2005-10).

From Jacksonville is Ron Middleton (tight ends). From his Seattle connections are Jeff Ulbrich (defensive coordinator) and Marquand Manuel (safeties). From his time in Houston is Greg Knapp (pass-game coordinator). Of the 13 top assistants, the only two who didn't coach with Saleh previously are Rob Calabrese (quarterbacks) and Brant Boyer (special teams), a holdover from the past two Jets coaching regimes.

Green on offense: Saleh has a handful of first-timers on this side of the ball -- a first-time playcaller (LaFleur) and three first-time position coaches (Calabrese, Embree and Austin). Basically, he's entrusting Sam Darnold (or another quarterback) to a rookie coach in Calabrese, 30, who has only two years of quality-control experience at the NFL level. Presumably, he will lean on Knapp, a former offensive coordinator and 24-year coaching veteran.

The key, of course, is LaFleur, 34, whom Saleh referred to as "Little Mikey" in a recent interview. Saleh met LaFleur through his older brother, Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur, a close friend. Saleh will oversee the entire team, but he's essentially handing off the offense to LaFleur, who spent the past seven years learning under 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan.

"Nobody in the world knows [that style of offense] better than he does," Saleh said of LaFleur. "[I'm] really excited about the vision that we have in place for the offensive side, and there's no one better in the world than the people that we've hired to be able to do that. So, it's going to be an exciting time for this organization."