SANTA CLARA, Calif. — As Robert Saleh faced career uncertainty for the first time in a while during the offseason, he knew one thing for sure: If he was going to return to being a defensive coordinator, he wanted to do it with the San Francisco 49ers.
After the Niners parted ways with coordinator Nick Sorensen in January, the team quickly locked in on hiring Saleh. And, barring another head coaching opportunity, Saleh had a similar idea in mind. When Saleh didn’t land the Jacksonville Jaguars‘ head job, he came back to the 49ers on Jan. 25, reuniting with coach Kyle Shanahan and the franchise that gave him his first coordinator opportunity.
Speaking to Bay Area media for the first time since his return Thursday, Saleh said his loyalty to the Niners is a product of not just the chance they initially provided him in 2017 but also of how they stuck by him when his first two years as coordinator didn’t go well.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for this organization,” Saleh said. “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. They stuck with me, and we made it happen. We did what we needed to do, and the rest is history. I’m excited about the opportunity to get a chance to do it again with them.”
Indeed, long before the New York Jets hired Saleh as head coach, he’d been planted firmly on the hot seat in San Francisco. As a first-time defensive coordinator in the early stages of a franchise overhaul, Saleh’s initial two defenses finished 25th and 28th in points allowed in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
But Shanahan stood by Saleh, noting that the defense needed to continue adding talent. By 2019, that unit boasted a fearsome line featuring tackles DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead and ends Nick Bosa and Dee Ford. The Niners had Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw at linebacker with veteran cornerback Richard Sherman leading the secondary.
That season, the defense became the backbone of a team that went to Super Bowl LIV. Saleh’s defense finished in the top eight in the NFL in points allowed, yards allowed, takeaways, defensive expected points added, yards per play allowed and passing yards per game allowed, among other categories.
Following the 2020 season, Saleh headed to the Jets, where he compiled a 20-36 record before his firing in October. Now, Saleh returns to San Francisco with hopes that he can return a once-proud defense back to dominance.
San Francisco gave up 25.6 points per game (29th in the NFL), had a defensive EPA of -57.71 (26th) and came up with just 17 turnovers forced (tied for 20th) in 2024. Over the final three games, the Niners averaged 38.7 points and 404.3 yards allowed without a takeaway.
Though Saleh still leans heavily on many of the Seattle-style defensive principles and slogans from his previous stint in San Francisco (he was wearing a black bracelet with “All Gas, No Brake” in white letters Thursday), he said the defense has evolved from when he was last in red and gold.
“You’re always trying to stay two years ahead of offense,” Saleh said. “When we went to the Jets, there was a lot of different things that we started to do, and even now while we have some things from the Jets, there’s stuff that has evolved over the course of the last four years here, and obviously with the league that there’s stuff happening.
“Over this offseason, a lot of really cool concepts, a lot of really cool things. Some things are the same, some things are the same from the Jets, some things are meshed, some things are coming in that’s new. … A lot of it may seem similar but there’s a lot of nuances that makes a difference.”
As Saleh acknowledged Thursday, much of his challenge in 2025 will be bringing along the young defenders the Niners will have to lean on early in their careers. Greenlaw, cornerback Charvarius Ward, defensive tackles Javon Hargrave and Maliek Collins, end Leonard Floyd and safety Talanoa Hufanga departed in free agency.
Warner, Bosa and defensive tackle Kevin Givens are the only 49ers defenders still on the roster from Saleh’s previous turn as coordinator. And the Niners used their first five picks in the draft on defensive players for the first time since 1981, adding end Mykel Williams, tackles Alfred Collins and CJ West, linebacker Nick Martin and cornerback Upton Stout.
Several of those rookies will be expected to start, or at least play, right away. They’ll begin that process this weekend as the Niners hold their rookie minicamp.
“[It’s] a really cool group of kids that are coming in,” Saleh said. “All are going to have an opportunity to compete to get significant playing time this year. But it’s exciting to get just the injection of youth to go along with a lot of the veterans that we have on this football team. … It’s going to be fun to work on.”
To this point in the offseason program, Saleh hasn’t had the opportunity to do much on the field with any of his defensive players. That will happen soon enough when the team starts organized team activities at the end of the month.
Starting then, Saleh will get to again match wits with Shanahan and new offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak.
“He obviously has a lot of experience, really good defensive coach,” Kubiak said. “We haven’t done a ton of just sitting down talking X’s and O’s, but obviously watching the Jets defense past couple of years going against them, just a ton of respect for their scheme and how hard those guys play. And so, it’s going to be fun competing against those guys in training camp and in the offseason.”
As for Saleh becoming a head coach again, Shanahan previously noted that he understands that will always be a possibility and that if another opportunity presents itself, it will likely mean good things are happening for the 49ers.
Over the final months of last season, Saleh worked as a consultant for Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur, one of his closest friends in the business. Saleh called that time “therapeutic” as it allowed him to avoid spending time dwelling on what happened in New York.
Still, Saleh could have taken a year away from football had he wanted to recharge the battery. Like taking a different coordinator job, that wasn’t really an option.
“We’re creatures of habit,” Saleh said. “It sounds good [to] wake up every morning, take my kids to school, go golf and then go watch tape. But coaching ball was always option one.”
