The latest season of HBO’s popular docuseries Hard Knocks features the New York Jets, taking viewers inside training camp with the NFL franchise.

While the strength of the show remains the lesser-known football players clinging to the fringe of the roster while battling for a job, it is the high-profile names that make the show attractive to the mainstream audience. In that sense, the biggest star of the 2023 edition of Hard Knocks was New York’s new quarterback, future Hall of Fame signal caller Aaron Rodgers. He was joined by All-Pro defensive lineman Quinnen Williams; Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook; Pro Bowl wide receiver Randall Cobb; and last season’s NFL Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year, receiver Garrett Wilson and cornerback Sauce Gardner, to provide plenty of star power for the five-episode experience.

But one person who stole many a scene but may not have been a household name prior to Hard Knocks was Jets head coach Robert Saleh, who is the first known Muslim head coach in NFL history.

Saleh, 44, is entering his third season as head coach in New York. Prior to being hired by the Jets, his work history included stints as the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers, and linebackers coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars, the team owned by Muslim billionaire businessman Shad Khan. Saleh hails from Dearborn, Michigan, the U.S. city with the largest population of Muslims per capita.

In Saleh’s first two seasons at the helm, the Jets went a combined 11-23 and finished in last place in the AFC East division both years. In 2023, however, mainly due to the addition of Rodgers at quarterback, expectations for the Jets range anywhere from making the playoffs to winning the division to winning the Super Bowl.

On Hard Knocks, Saleh gave inspirational pep talks in team meetings …

… he brought a youthful energy to the stadium for preseason games …

… he turned the Jets’ practice facility into a classroom …

… and he even re-created the famous opening theme from The Sopranos.

One thing that stood out to myself and other longtime Hard Knocks viewers is that in the season finale, there was no footage of any Jets player being cut from the team. It’s a Hard Knocks tradition: The men fighting for those final roster spots learning their fate in the last episode, as cameras show what might be the worst moment of their professional lives for the ones who don’t make the cut. This season, they did show a couple of undrafted Jets rookies receiving the good news that they did make the squad, and the happiness of those moments.

But it was clearly a conscious choice by the Jets — perhaps by Saleh, perhaps by the team’s general manager Joe Douglas — that this season they did not show any players receiving the bad news. (The narrator did tell us about some of the players who were cut, and cameras followed up with them for reflection afterward.) That decision had mixed reviews: Some fans hated it, some didn’t mind it, and some appreciated it. Personally, I think it would be admirable if Saleh and the Jets didn’t want to embarrass any of the men who had worked hard during camp by showing what could be a heartbreaking moment. It would be a kind gesture in a sport that is so often unkind to those who love it.

“O Messenger of Allah! It is a great Mercy of God that you are gentle and kind towards them, for, had you been harsh and hard-hearted, they would all have broken away from you.” (Quran 3:159).