A lot has changed this offseason for the San Francisco 49ers. Gone are the days of Deebo Samuel, Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga in favor of a cheaper roster. But while change is taking the 49ers by storm, the organization made sure to keep some familiarity in tact, bringing back defensive coordinator, Robert Saleh. The team’s defensive coordinator from 2017-2020, Saleh then got the head coaching job for the New York Jets in 2021.
But now that he is no longer the Jets’ head coach, Saleh is back in the place where he was able to put his name on the map. And for the first time since getting his old job back, Saleh met with members of the media and spoke candidly on his return to San Francisco.
Saleh And His Gratitude for the 49ers
Even though Saleh got fired by the Jets in the middle of last season, he was still a hot commodity in this year’s coaching cycle, with many teams after his services. But it was what the 49ers were able to do for his career, and what he brought to the 49ers, that made returning not only an easy choice, but his first choice if he was unable to get a head coaching job.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for this organization,” Saleh said during his presser. “They gave me so much and during the first two years, if you think about those first two years as the coordinator in ’17 and ’18, it wasn’t easy and it could have been very easy for them to move on for me. I’m indebted to this organization, to those men for the rest of my life. hey stuck with me and we made it happen. We did what we needed to do and the rest is history and I’m excited about the opportunity to get a chance to do it again with them.”
It was unlikely that Saleh was going to get a head coaching gig for 2025, and having no interest in taking a year off from coaching, he was able to find a good landing spot with the 49ers.
Saleh’s Views on This Season’s Team
Between the first time he took the 49ers’ job back in 2017 to now, one thing is for certain– times have changed. In Saleh’s first stint on Kyle Shanahan’s first staff, a perceived lack of talent, especially on the defensive side of the ball, was glaring. And while losing guys like Greenlaw and Hufanga may hurt on the surface, Saleh is confident that there is still enough talent for the defense to wreak havoc.
“From a talent standpoint, [Nick] Bosa is here,” Saleh said. “You’ve got, obviously, Fred [Warner], Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo [Green]. There’s a lot of really good talent on this defense, so it’s not nearly what ’17 was.”
Saleh also spoke on this year’s rookie class, and said that while it is a talented group, there will be a major learning curve for them in terms of understanding the culture and terminology of his defense.
“Just come out and compete,” Saleh said. No expectations right now. They’ve got a long way to go with regards to understanding what we do. One, the standard at which we play, and the style of ball that we expect them to play. And then, on top of that, you’ve got the scheme and understanding all the nuances that we’re going to ask out of them. So, they’ve got OTAS, training camp, and it’s going to be a crash course. And if any of them are worthy, they’ll be on the field Week 1.”
