NFL insider notebook: Robert Saleh gets an assist to avoid dubious Jets mark, plus Week 17 picks

Jonathan Jones' weekly look inside the NFL breaks down who gets W-L credit when coaches miss games

Robert Saleh avoided the worst record for a first-year head coach in Jets history by ... not coaching last week.

Saleh is now officially 4-11 as HC of NYJ, but it was Ron Middleton who was manning the sideline in last week's win against the Jaguars due to Saleh being in COVID-19 protocols. Because the worst first-year coaching record in Jets history is 3-13, the fourth win of the season helped the Jets avoid a 3-14 record that would produce the worst winning percentage in Year 1 for a head coach.

I checked in with the league office this week to confirm that head coaches who miss games due to COVID (or other illness) still get credit for the wins and losses of their team. And unlike teams who have fired their head coach in-season and roll with an interim for the remainder of the year, those wins and losses do get credited to the permanent head coach.