Liam Coen is expected to become the next head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the San Francisco 49ers are big beneficiaries of the development.
Coen was viewed as the favorite to be the next Jags coach, but he pulled himself out of contention this week. After it looked like Coen would return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Robert Saleh reportedly emerged as the favorite for the Jaguars job.
Saleh was fired by the New York Jets after leading them to a 2-3 start to the season, so he is available as a candidate. But if Coen takes the Jacksonville job, that makes Saleh available for other positions. And Saleh could return to the 49ers.
I expect the 49ers to rehire Robert Saleh as their defensive coordinator soon
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) January 24, 2025
Saleh, 45, served as the defensive coordinator for the 49ers from 2017-2020. He left the Niners job to take the head coach job with the Jets, where he went 20-36.
The 49ers were 25th (2017), 28th (2018), 8th (2019) and 17th (2020) in points allowed with Saleh as their defensive coordinator. The team was 29th in points allowed this season and fired Nick Sorensen, who was in his first season as their defensive coordinator.
The Niners being able to reunite with Saleh, who already knows the organization and head coach Kyle Shanahan, would be a big offseason win for the team.
