49ers is expected to hire Robert Saleh to other stint as defensive coordinator: sources

On January 24, 2025By Littum

By Matt Barrows, Michael Silver and Zack Rosenblatt

Welcome back, Robert Saleh.

According to league goals, which were informed about the coaching search, San Francisco 49ers is expected to land the top target of their defensive coordinator search, the man who established the system that the 49s have been running ever since.

Saleh, fired in October as the New York Jet’s main coach five games into his fourth season, generated interest on the head combat front and was seen as one of the front trunners of the Jacksonville Jaguars job.

His situation took a dramatic turn on Thursday when Tampa Bay Buccaneer’s offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who had removed himself from the Jaguars head-fighting search one day earlier, put in the mix and became the favorite to win the job. What happened between Wednesday and Thursday? Jaguars parted ways with General Manager Trent Baalke, which made the job more attractive to Coen.

Meanwhile, Saleh was to fly to Jacksonville late Thursday for an interview Friday, his second with Jacksonville. However, when the Coen news broke, he canceled that flight.

Saleh has not yet been told he has been removed from Las Vegas Raiders or Dallas Cowboys’ head-coaching searches, according to a source familiar with Saleh’s plans. He is not expected to be a top choice for both jobs, but if he were to receive an offer from one of the teams that would probably replace his plans to participate in the 49s.

With Jets, Saleh 20-36 went without playoff appearances over three-plus seasons. His team was typically defensively defensively, but an inability to find the right quarterback – among others, Zach Wilson, the second election of the 2021 draft, fought, and Aaron Rodgers jumped Hans Achilles in his Jets debut in 2023 – was for much to overcome. Many hesitated to credit Saleh for the team’s elite -defensive performances in 2022 and 2023; He monitored the unit with the defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. This tale changed after the team collapsed over the 2024 season last three months.

Along with a 3-9 finish (they were 2-3 when Saleh was fired), consider: In the five games this season before Saleh’s dismissal, Jets fifth ranked in defensive EPA. They ranked 31. After Saleh was fired and Ulbrich stepped in as the temporary head coach, and their performances were often characterized by problems with discipline (Jets led the NFL in defensive sanctions).

Saleh first arrived with the 49s in 2017 with an aggressive “All Gas, No Brake” slogan and in 2019 had made the 49s one of the top defense of the league, one that depended on four talented defensive linemen to harass quarterback and stop tailbacks . They spoke 48 sacks, kept opponents under 20 points per day. Battle and ended first in the league by allowing 169.2 to pass yard a game.

The 49s were in reconstruction mode when Kyle Shanahan-John Lynch regime took over in 2017. The team initially fought, and so did Saleh’s defense, which in 2018 was criticized for being too bland and sometimes too disombulated. However, Shanahan stuck with the defensive coordinator because he believed in Saleh and his system.

“I think it’s much harder to go (against),” Shanahan said at the time. “I feel like there are other things that he’s expanded and he’s a guy that I think (if) our fans give him the time – I know I want – our players will work a lot Hard for him … Saleh is a guy we should feel lucky to have. “

Three major additions were made after the 2018 season: 1) The 49s hired Kris Kocurek, a disciple of the attacking wide 9 formation, to run the defensive line; 2) They traded for quick passport Rusher dee Ford; 3) They used No. 2 choices to prepare defensive end Nick Bosa, who continued to become NFL’s defensive rookie in the year.

The defense – and the defensive line – has not been as dominant since 2019, and the team is likely to use part of its offseason capital to strengthen that line. When the 2024 season ended, the 49s allowed a 100-yard rusher almost every week and went without sacks in four of their last six content.

Critics looking for a shake in defense will note that Saleh is more of the same. In his news conference at the end of the season earlier this month, Shanahan said that failing to make playoffs at least would give him extra time to complete his coordinator search with a larger pool of candidates than he had had in the latest Offseasons.

“There are more options out there, and (I) plan to investigate them all,” he said.

However, the team revealed only three formal interviews to defensive coordinator: Saleh, Internal Candidate Brandon Staley and the Detroit Lions Defensive Backs coach Deshea Townsend. Salehs and Townsend’s interviews were conducted almost and fulfilled NFLS Rooney rule, which requires team to interview at least two minority candidates.

Saleh may not be inclined to add many new assistants. All the most important for defense – kocurek, linebackers -coach Johnny Holland and Defensive Backs – coach Daniel Bullocks – coached under Saleh earlier in San Francisco.

Earlier this month, Shanahan said he was looking for an experienced coordinator he gets with Saleh. He also said he was looking for someone who could turn if injuries hit the defense, as they did to Saleh’s predecessor, first -year coordinator Nick Sorensen, in 2024.

Shanahan’s most important criticism of Sorensen is that he was unable to adjust after the defensive linemen like Javon Hargrave, Yurt Gross-Matos and Bosa went down with injuries. Most people interpreted it as a lack of construction of a better passport through flashing, something the 49s rarely did.

In fact, the team ranked 31. In Blitz Rate last season, according to Pro Football Focus. However, Saleh was not known for flashing when he was in San Francisco, although Jets did it more than the 49s last season and ranked 22. In the flash percentage.

Related reading