49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is expected to draw head coaching interest during this offseason’s hiring cycle, per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
Saleh, 46, had a difficult tenure as the head coach of the Jets from 2021 to 2024. He quickly turned the league’s 32nd-ranked defense into one of the league’s best, but he could never get a handle on the offensive side of the ball, due in large part to poor quarterback play from Zach Wilson and Aaron Rodgers.
Saleh’s first offensive coordinator, Mike LaFleur, actually improved the offense from 2021 to 2022, but a rough stretch at the end of his second season led to his dismissal. Nathaniel Hackett took over in 2023 as part of Joe Douglas’ ill-fated pursuit of Rodgers and was clearly not up to the task. Saleh’s struggles in New York could also be attributed to questionable roster management from general manager Joe Douglas and interference from owner Woody Johnson.
Saleh was fired just five games into the 2024 season and quickly reunited with Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco this offseason. The 49ers defense ranks 25th in total defense but 15th in points allowed. The uninspiring results are understandable given major injuries to Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, their two best defenders. Edge rushers Yetur Gross-Matos and Mykel Williams have also been on injured reserve.
Despite being fired midseason, Saleh interviewed for head coaching jobs with the Cowboys, Jaguars, and Raiders, and was reportedly Jacksonville’s No. 2 choice behind Liam Coen. That shows that NFL teams still believe Saleh is a capable head coach who may not have been given a fair shake in New York. He also has plenty of relationships with young coaches from the Shanahan-Sean McVay tree that teams will covet as potential offensive coordinator hires.
Since leaving New York, LaFleur has been McVay’s offensive coordinator in Los Angeles but could jump at the chance to call plays again. If Mike McDaniel is fired in Miami, he could reunite with Saleh after the two spent time together under Shanahan in San Francisco.
Saleh will still have to nail his interviews and sell a new team on his vision for the future. After his experience in New York, he may be looking for more synergy with ownership and the front office
Hes a great defensive coach. He’s a strong leader. His first run as a head coach was kneecapped by the Zach Wilson pick, dopey ownership, and an arranged marriage with Nathaniel Hackett. He’s done a great job of adapting to rough personnel in SF this year. He’s a solid HC candidate.
You obviously didn’t watch a second of his tenure as Jets coach…
I watched almost every second. I’m a lifelong Jets fan. Nice try.
Best as a DC
Some guys flourish as coordinators and struggle mightily when elevated into the head seat. I’m with you, thinking Saleh has the same issues as Wade Phillips did running the whole show.
Josh McDaniels.
McDaniels didn’t even have strong offenses as a head coach and he left every job but the Patriots with people widely despising him.
McDaniles isn’t leaving NE anytime soon.
Take it from a Jet fan. Great guy, brilliant defensive mind…you do not want this guy near your team as a HC
I’m also a Jets fan and I’m unclear when he was put in a position to succeed as a head coach with the Jets. But the team never quit on him, even when Zach Wilson was thrust back into action.
Uhhh when they traded for Aaron Rodgers?
Trading for Rodgers required them to hire one of the worst offensive play callers in football, then Rodgers got hurt four snaps into that first season. Then the roster was worse the next season, Rodgers wasn’t all that great, and they fired Saleh after only five games because he lost to a team that was undefeated at the time.
Tom Landry, Bill Walsh, and Vince Lombardi together, couldn’t win with that owner and roster.
actually, its the opposite.
you do not want the Jets anywhere near your HC candidate.
Saleh is not the problem.
You are.
Oh ok so allowing your QB to miss mandatory minicamp and losing a coaching staff and locker room that had more leaks in it than the Iraqi Navy is indicative of a good HC candidate got it. He was 20-36 as a HC. I urge you to read the article from the Athletic about his Jets days and although you’re right, the franchise is a disaster, he did not do anything in his tenure to show that he is anything more than a good DC
He had a winning record at the time that he was fired, and Rodgers wasn’t bad when he actually played. So, yes, I ‘lol push back on those two arguments. That second year, the Jets looked actually not bad…until Saleh was fired. I don’t think that they would have won the division, but they without a shadow of a doubt nosedived after Saleh was fired, not before.
Absolutely false. Are you kidding me? The jets didn’t look that bad? They were the most penalized team in the nfl with countless false starts and delay of game penalties that made games unwatchable…THAT COMES DOWN TO COACHING
I mean, no, they didn’t. Penalties certainly are bad, but they were only a game under .500 and were heading into a game the week prior to potentially take the division lead over Buffalo that came down to a very competitive final quarter. Unwatchable after five weeks is a tall claim. The Jets were giving up 17ppg on defense before the firing, and immediately shot up by afterward. 6 games later, they were giving up 26.2ppg and let game winning drives to Jacoby Brissett and…Anthony Richardson.
I mean, that’s not bad, and certainly better than they’ve had since Fitzmagic’s 30+ touchdown regular season. It’s definitely better than this year. So, you may find it unwatchable personally, but I’d be curious to see what you’ve considered it since.
As far as your penalty argument goes…I would wager that the penalty problem was at least somewhat related to the fact that Johnson refused to allow Saleh to hire refs for the offseason practices, like most teams do…
Can’t judge anyone based on what one does as HC of the Jets.
True, but how he responded to adversity can certainly be judged. He doesn’t have a head coach mentality.
When that adversity is directly tied to the decisions being made above you and by the guy signing your checks, that’s a tight rope that most men are going to fall off of. Especially in their first attempt. All that said, I wouldn’t disagree with a single word you said if his failure wasn’t with the Jets. He deserves a second chance in a stable franchise.
This guy would probably flourish if given another opportunity to be head coach, he made the mistake of going to the jets some years ago it’s the place where coaches go to die, thankfully for him he bounced back
Instead of 20 articles about guys expected to draw HC interest, why don’t we save a bit of time and have a single article listing the guys that won’t be generating any HC interest?
Adam Gase will not be generating any HC interest.
Adam is going to feel terrible that he got listed before Rex Ryan…lol.
Hopefully Petullo is not on that list.
After Bowles being fired then eventually moving on to be a solid head coach elsewhere, it would really suck for Jets fans if the same thing happens with Saleh.
Some great coaches simply don’t work out in their first chance as a head coach. Mike Shanahan was fired by the Raiders in year two. Bill Belichick was fired by the Browns before they moved & became the Ravens in 1996. Pete Carroll was fired by the Patriots & Jets before USC saved his career, & then he went to Seattle. There are a lot of misses that happen when you give a second chance to a head coach that failed on their first try, but you might miss out on a great one by not trying.
I’m going to start with saying that I totally agree with you. 100%. So don’t take this as an argument against what you said, I just thought the examples weren’t the best. Initially, I must say. I was going to write an argument about how those guys only won because of their Hall of Fame quarterbacks and incredible defenses. Mainly Belichick and Carroll because, while in Denver, Shanahan continued to win. Not so much in Washington, however. But then I got to thinking that most every great coach in history is tied to a Hall of Fame (or to steal from baseball), a Hall of Very Good quarterback. Or, in the rare occasion, a legendary defense. So…in your opinion, what makes a great head coach in the NFL? If your given the keys to a franchise and are free to pick anyone to lead your team, who are you taking?
Well, that’s the big question, right? If Saleh had had Burrow or Allen or Mahomes, would they have won several of those close games that year? Undoubtedly. And he’d have kept the job. But that aside, the ownership of the Jets is a $hit$how and that eventually sinks any team.
Agree completely. It’s why it’s makes zero sense not to give Saleh another chance. Very few coaches in this league are consistent winners without a top tier QB.
Well What type of teams do you think will be in the market for a coach? Ones that have a below average or young/rookie QB. So unless he’s going to get the Bengals job if they fire Taylor, I have zero faith that he will be able to have any sort of success. The man had Aaron Rodgers as his QB and didn’t win with a team that should have
So using that, the Steelers should be far better than the 6-5 record they have. They have Aaron Rodgers. They have a roster that should be winning. But they aren’t. So Mike Tomlin must be a terrible coach and be fired at the end of the season. Or maybe…just maybe…Aaron Rodgers is a shell of the quarterback that he was 15 years.
EVERYBODY Fails with the Jets. Sam Darnold & Geno thrived after leaving, how about Aaron Rodgers with the Steelers? Look at Todd Bowles as Head Coach of the Bucs. The OWNER & FRONT OFFICE is the problem with the jets, until that gets fixed every coach & player cannot overcome bad Bosses/Owners
Aaron Rodgers is thriving with the Steelers because he has a great HC!!! Saleh couldn’t win with Rodgers and was fired 5 games in!!! Bowles got them the closest they’ve been to the playoffs in the last 15 years then inherited a team that was coming off of a Super Bowl in Tampa bay. Darnold and Geno had many stops in between to revive their careers so don’t act like it was automatic as soon as they left NY it clicked.
Rodgers hasn’t been all that good in Pittsburgh. He’s dinking and dunking as fast as possible because he’s scared to take hits. 70% of their passing yards are after the catch. The Steelers are 15th in the league in scoring, which is inflated by having gotten to play the worst defense in football twice.
He’s been good considering how bad the offense is. Warren is the best skill player on the offense, and they only have one receiver in Metcalf who is inconsistent. The line is below average, but the best receivers after Metcalf are their three TEs. Literally none of the Steelers’ wideouts can get any separation in their routes. I wish that I were exaggerating, but I haven’t seen a Steelers game where these players are offering more than maybe two options on any given passing play. It’s quite shocking, to be honest.
It’s actually similar to the issues with the Jets roster-wise last year; the offensive line was bad, there was really one reliable receiver (until Adams came), and the run game was a bit one sided. In fact, I’d actually make the argument that, with Adams and Smith, the Jets had better secondary offensive options at WR and HB than Pittsburgh does. The major difference is the stability of the front office. The Steelers aren’t answering questions about locker room politics or a wild antic of their owner every other week.
Ok, but no Darnell Washington slander. I love watching that man.
He should be considered for the head coaching position of THE SAN FRANCISCO 49ers!!!!
Josh McDaniels 2.0
McDaniels has alienated way more people and gotten way more chances to show he’s like that.
Crap HC. Great DC. It is what it is.
Crap HC because he was with the jets any other team and he’ll probably do good
Crap HC because he is a crap HC. He had Aaron Rodgers as his QB and was fired 5 games in. 20-36
Yes, because the current version of Rodgers is SO GOOD…
That’s funny
Saleh is not head coach material. He doesn’t have the connections to keep a steady offensive coordinater.
lol what? He’s connected to every offensive coach who’s passed through Kyle Shanahan’s staffs. You know, the biggest source of offensive coaching talent in the NFL.
What connections? Both of his choices for offensive coordinator in New York were a disaster.
He didn’t choose Hackett. And again, he’s connected to the whole Shanahan tree. He’s worked with basically all of them at some point.
Working under the Shanahan tree doesn’t guarantee you a good playcaller. Are you dumb?
In Oof’s defense, you did say “connections” and not “guarantees”. Saleh isn’t guaranteed a great coordinator, but it’s pretty easy to make an argument that he has connections.
And, in Saleh’s defense, he was supposedly fired after attempting to demote Hackett (which is strange, because apparently Rodgers didn’t push back on that, which makes you wonder why Johnson didn’t push it, given how Johnson and Rodgers were alienated afterward, I tend to believe that it was Johnson’s decision).
Yeah, who said guarantees? No one is guaranteed anything.
Aside from hopper15’s snarky comment about your intelligence which was unnecessary, I do agree with him….watching him coach the Jets was painful…while his defense was pretty good, the offense was mechanical and very predictable and can’t all be blamed on his coordinator or his QB….remember as HC he had a say in both who his coordinators are/were and the completion of the team….he seemed disengaged, unprepared, and made lots of clock mistakes……just goes to show a good coordinator doesn’t necessarily make a good HC…..
@Ooof: If you want me take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time.
I’d rather take the butcher’s word for it.
Please don’t leave…