The Pros and Cons of the 49ers Bringing Robert Saleh Back

Here are the pros and cons of the 49ers bringing Robert Saleh back to be their defensive coordinator.

Familiarity is a significant factor in the NFL.

That is why the San Francisco 49ers interviewed Robert Saleh for the vacant defensive coordinator position. Nostalgia plays a key role in this. Saleh's tenure with the 49ers was a good one, especially in his last two years with the team.

The 49ers would give anything to have their elite defense back. It hasn't been the case for the last two years under Steve Wilks and Nick Sorensen. So, bringing Saleh back seems like a no-brainer. However, there is an upside and downside to it.

Here are the pros and cons of the 49ers bringing Saleh back.

Pros

• Saleh will maintain the structure of the defense, which is what Kyle Shanahan wants. His familiarity and ability to call and scheme the defense with it is what makes him the most attractive candidate. If he worked out well last with the 49ers, he will probably replicate it in his second stint.

• Shanahan trusts Saleh. He didn't have too much of that with Sorensen, which is why Sorensen called such a vanilla defense for most of the season. Every play was rushing four and dropping back seven into coverage. Shanahan especially didn't have much trust in Wilks. He hated his heavy blitzing and things came to a boil going into the Super Bowl. Trust is needed for Shanahan with his defensive coordinator.

• The players will easily buy into Saleh. It is similar to the trust needed with Shanahan. The players liked Sorensen but didn't love him. They especially didn't give their confidence in Wilks. With Saleh, he will immediately garner the love and trust of Nick Bosa and Fred Warner. That will end up garnering the rest of the players to buy into him as well and execute the game plan.

Cons

• It's probably more likely than not that Saleh will improve the 49ers' defense. Should Saleh get the 49ers back into the elite form when he and DeMeco Ryans originally ran it, he will garner attention from teams searching for a new head coach. It's very possible he can be another one-and-done defensive coordinator for the 49ers, putting them in this same position searching for a new one for a fourth straight year. It's the most detracting factor in bringing him back.

• While the 49ers view it as a benefit that Saleh will maintain the defensive structure, it can also be viewed as a negative. The wide-nine defensive front and heavy zone coverage that Shanahan is enamored with is looking outdated. It won't change if Saleh comes back. There likely won't be any change if they hire Saleh, but that is exactly what the 49ers need. They need more than some tweaks to their defense and they won't get that from Saleh.

• Getting the players to buy into Saleh won't be a problem. However, there should be a question of if Saleh can utilize the personnel effectively and succeed with them. Sorensen was by no means a great coordinator, but he wasn't put in a position to succeed at all. Sorensen comes from a similar coaching background as Saleh, so the personnel utilization could look identical, which means it's hard to envision there being that much improvement.