After an exhaustive 16-day search, the San Francisco 49ers have finally settled on their next defensive coordinator. And just as head coach Kyle Shanahan desired, that job now belong to Robert Saleh.
The 49ers confirmed on Friday evening that Saleh would rejoin the organization in the same role he held before his three-plus-year stint as head coach of the New York Jets.
Saleh was fired by the Jets in early October and finished the season serving as a consultant for the Green Bay Packers. Meanwhile, the 49ers’ coordinator job became available when Nick Sorensen was removed from his position in January.
“I want someone that kind of meshes with what I believe in, but I also believe in that you’ve got to fit to come up with the best thing possible that fits our situation right now,” Shanahan said during his year-end press conference. “So, that’ll be talking about our personnel, the roster, a lot of things like that and what their plan would be with it.”
Perhaps there was no greater fit than Saleh, who turned the 49ers into one of the NFL’s top defensive units during his first stint after some early hardships. At the time of his departure following the 2020 season, San Francisco had the league’s fifth-best defense in terms of yardage allowed. That came on the heels of a 2019 campaign where they ranked eighth in points allowed and second in yardage allowed.
Before landing back with the 49ers, Saleh interviewed with the Las Vegas Raiders, Dallas Cowboys and Jacksonville Jaguars for their vacant head coaching positions.
Saleh was considered a finalist for the Jags job which ultimately went to Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen.
