49ers expected to hire Robert Saleh for second stint as defensive coordinator: sources

By Matt Barrows, Michael Silver and Zack Rosenblatt

Welcome, Robert Saleh.

According to league sources briefed on the coaching search, the San Francisco 49ers are expected to land the biggest target in their defensive coordinator search, the man who in 2017 established the system the 49ers have done since.

Saleh, who was fired in October as head coach of the New York Jets five games into his fourth season, has attracted interest on the head coaching front and has been considered one of the work favorites Jacksonville Jaguars.

His situation took a dramatic turn Thursday when Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who had withdrawn from the Jaguars coaching search a day earlier, had reinserted himself into the mix and emerged as the favorite to win the job. What happened between Wednesday and Thursday? The Jaguars parted ways with general manager Trent Baalke, making the job more attractive to Coen.

Saleh, meanwhile, was scheduled to travel to Jacksonville Thursday night for an interview Friday, his second with Jacksonville. As the Coen News broke, however, he canceled that flight.

Saleh has not yet been informed that he has been eliminated from the Las Vegas Raiders or Dallas Cowboys’ shell searches, according to a source familiar with Saleh’s plans. He’s not expected to be a top pick for either job, but should he receive an offer from either team that would likely supersede his plans to join the 49ers.

With the Jets, Saleh went 20-36 without a playoff appearance in over three seasons. His teams were generally strong defensively, but an inability to find the right quarterback – among others, Zach Wilson, the second pick in the 2021 draft, struggled, and Aaron Rodgers ruptured his Achilles in his 2023 Jets debut – was too much to overcome to overcome his Achilles. Many were hesitant to credit Saleh for the team’s elite defensive performances in 2022 and 2023; He oversaw the unit with defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. That narrative changed after the team fell apart in the final three months of the 2024 season.

With a 3-9 finish (they were 2-3 when Saleh was fired), consider: In the five games this season before Saleh was fired, the Jets ranked fifth in defensive EPA. They ranked 31st after Saleh was fired and Ulbrich stepped in as interim head coach, and their performances were often marked by disciplinary problems (the Jets led the NFL in defensive penalties).

Saleh first came to the 49ers in 2017 with an aggressive slogan of “All Gas, No Brake” and by 2019 had transformed the 49ers into one of the best defenses in the league, one that boasted four defensive linemen talented at harassing the quarterback and stopping Tailbacks. They collected 48 sacks, held opponents to fewer than 20 points per game and finished first in the league in allowing 169.2 passing yards per game.

The 49ers were in rebuild mode when the Kyle Shanahan-John Lynch regime took over in 2017. The team initially struggled, as did Saleh’s defense, which in 2018 was criticized for being too bland and at times too decalculated. Shanahan, however, stayed with the defensive coordinator because he believed in Saleh and his system.

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

Three major additions were made after the 2018 season: 1) The 49ers hired 9-forward roster disciple Kris Kocurek to lead the defensive line; 2) They traded for Speedy Pass Rusher Dee Ford; 3) They used the No. 2 pick to draft defensive end Nick Bosa, who became the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year.

The defense – and defensive line – haven’t been this dominant since 2019 and the team is likely to use a piece of its offseason capital to bolster that line. As the 2024 season came to a close, the 49ers allowed a 100-yard rusher almost every week and went sackless in four of their last six contentions.

Critics looking for a shakeup on defense will note that Saleh is more of the same. At her end-of-season press conference earlier this month, Shanahan said not making the playoffs would give her more time to conduct her coordinator search with a larger group of candidates than she had none during the recent provenance.

“There are more opportunities and (I) plan to look at them,” he said.

However, the team has only disclosed three official interviews for defensive coordinator: Saleh, internal candidate Brandon Staley and Detroit Lions Backs coach Deshea Townsend. The Saleh and Townsend interviews were conducted virtually and satisfied the NFL’s Rooney Rule that requires teams to interview at least two minority candidates.

Saleh also might not be inclined to add many new assistants. All of the principals on defense — Kocurek, linebackers coach Johnny Holland and defensive backs coach Daniel Bullocks — coached under Saleh previously in San Francisco.

Earlier this month, Shanahan said he was looking for a seasoned coordinator, which he would get with Saleh. He also said he was looking for someone who could pivot if injuries hit the defense like they did to Saleh’s predecessor, first-year coordinator Nick Sorensen, in 2024.

Shanahan’s main criticism of Sorensen is that he was unable to adapt after defensive linemen like Javon Hargrave, Yettur Gross-Matos and Bosa were injured. Most interpreted this as a failure to ingest a better blitz rush, something the 49ers rarely did.

Indeed, the team ranked 31st in blitz rate last season, according to Pro Football Focus. Saleh, however, was not known for his blitz when he was in San Francisco, although the Jets did it more than the 49ers last season, ranking 22nd in blitz percentage.

Related reading

• 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan on next defensive coordinator, predicts Brock Purdy, Deebo Samuel
• 49ers moving on from DC Nick Sorensen, hope to keep him on staff: Source

(Photo: Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)