It might have taken longer than they wanted, but the San Francisco 49ers finally have their defensive coordinator for the 2025 NFL season.
According to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner, the expected reunion between the 49ers and former defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is officially happening after Saleh was passed over for the Jacksonville Jaguars job.
Saleh was one of two interviews the 49ers announced for their DC opening, opening the door for speculation that San Francisco knew Saleh wasn’t going to land one of the head coach openings.
That took a turn in the lead up to the NFL’s conference championship games when the Jaguars’ top candidate, Liam Coen, backed out of the running before his second interview. That left Saleh and Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham as the lone candidates with second interviews, introducing new speculation that Saleh was the favorite for the job.
Then on Jan. 23, news quickly broke that Coen would once again pursue the Jags job after they fired general manager Trent Baalke. That quickly turned into news that Coen would be taking the Jaguars’ job, opening the door for Saleh to step into the 49ers’ DC role.
Saleh spent the 2017-20 seasons in San Francisco where he helped transform a dreadful 49ers defense into a Super Bowl caliber unit in his third season. After 2020 he was hired to be the New York Jets head coach where he spent the 2021-24 seasons. He was fired by the Jets after five games in 2024, and exited New York with a head coaching record of 20-36.
His defenses in New York were stout, though. They struggled in his first year, finishing last in the league in points and yards allowed. By his second season they leapt to No. 4 in both categories. They finished No. 3 in yards allowed the following two years.
He had similar success in San Francisco with his defenses finishing No. 2 and No. 5 in yards allowed is final two years.
The 49ers circled Saleh as their top candidate from the start, which makes sense since he checks all the boxes they’re looking for in terms of experience and prior success.
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