Sports Illustrated’s Connor Orr went through the top potential head coaching candidates for 2026. As expected, Robert Saleh was included. What might surprise some is how strong a case Saleh has, and how he might already have a potential landing spot:
Saleh, 46, may have had the best candidacy boost of any coach this season simply by virtue of how his former quarterback and team performed without him. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell dug up the stat that has come to define Saleh’s candidacy for a second head coaching job: In the Jets’ final 17 games with Saleh as head coach, the team was No. 1 in defensive EPA per play allowed and points per drive allowed. In the team’s first 17 games without Saleh, they were the worst team in the NFL by those same metrics.
Saleh’s injury-battered 49ers defense is eighth in points allowed despite not having its best two players (Nick Bosa and Fred Warner) for most of the season. The 49ers have allowed just 17 points over the past two weeks. Saleh interviewed for openings in Jacksonville and Dallas last season, and was also offered a hefty deal to be the Raiders’ defensive coordinator and heir to Pete Carroll.
Carroll is 74. The Raiders don’t have a quarterback. They don’t have any direction. Saleh also has a perceived weak coaching pool to compete against. Sure, teams are generally lean toward having offensive minds in-house, but that would ignore what Mike Vrabel has done with a franchise quarterback in Year 1. It’s reductive to assume the only way to improve as a team is with an offensive head coach.
If the Raiders were high on Saleh last offseason, they should be thrilled with what he’s done under the 2025 circumstances. If the 49ers can continue to limit the damage defensively, the Raiders won’t be the only team interested in Saleh’s services in 2026.
The Titans have a vacancy, as do the Giants. And it would not be surprising to see teams like the Falcons or Browns also move on from their head coaches. There will be no shortage of options or interviews this offseason for Saleh, who should once again be one of the top candidates during this head coaching cycle.
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