#Jets head coach Robert Saleh gets police escort to Knicks-Hawks game

The beleaguered team he’s taken over hasn’t had the chance to lose a game yet, so why does Robert Saleh already need police protection?

Exclusive video obtained by The Post shows the Jets’ new head coach arriving at Madison Square Garden for Game 2 of the Knick-Hawks playoffs with an official New Jersey State Police escort.

A black SUV carrying Saleh and three of his sons pulled up to MSG’s VIP entrance at 4 Penn Plaza on Wednesday evening, followed closely by a marked NJSP vehicle with its lights flashing, according to the 1-minute, 7-second clip shot by street journalist Adam Glyn.

Saleh — who was hired in January to turn around the Jets following a dismal, 2-14 season — hopped out of the rear passenger door around 7:25 p.m., followed by his kids, all of whom were shielded from the rain by an MSG worker holding a huge umbrella.

Meanwhile, Gang Green’s vice president of security and facilities operations — ex-NYPD cop Robert Mastroddi — was standing on the far side of the street and approached the trooper behind the wheel of the state police SUV.

After briefly chatting with the driver, Mastroddi walked across West 31st Street and introduced Saleh to an MSG worker, then gave Saleh a fist bump as he and his kids headed inside for the game, barely five minutes before the tip-off.

One of the boys even waved to the camera before passing a uniformed NYPD cop standing guard by the door.

The video then shows Mastroddi, who was the NYPD’s liaison to then-Gov. George Pataki, standing in the street as the NJSP vehicle drives off, its lights still flashing.

An MSG source said the incident was unprecedented except for visits by the governor of New Jersey, who is accompanied by an NJSP security detail.

A law-enforcement source also said the incident violated standard protocol for other police escorts into the Big Apple from New Jersey, where Saleh lives in Morristown with his wife and seven kids.

Gang Green is also holding off-season training activities in Florham Park, N.J.

Ordinarily, New Jersey cops never leave the Garden State and instead hand off their charges to Port Authority cops who guide them through the Holland or Lincoln Tunnels, or across the George Washington Bridge.

Once in the city, NYPD takes over, the source said.

The NJSP didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment and the NYPD referred questions to the Port Authority Police Department, which said it was not involved, nor were told of the escort.

But Saleh, previously the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive coordinator, told reporters he was blown away by the 101-92 victory over Atlanta, which tied their best-of-seven series at one win each.

“It was awesome,” he said.

“Obviously, the Garden lived up to its reputation. From an outsider looking in all you hear about is the Garden. It was awesome.”

Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy and Brian Costello