PHOTO: LUCAS BOLAND
Robert Saleh, forever 49er!
We think. Or hope.
As of this writing, there is a belief from trusted beat writers and reporters — your Matty Maioccos, your Matt Barrowses, your Cam Inmans, your Mike Silvers — that Robert Saleh will, indeed, return to Santa Clara to be the 49ers’ new (and old) defensive coordinator.
That’s a home run, sports fans. If you forgive the mixed metaphor.
That is, if Saleh does, indeed, come to Santa Clara.
The reporting veered into a gray area, because the stories noted that if Saleh is offered a head coaching job, he would take that head coaching job, and not the 49ers defensive coordinator gig. The Saints and Cowboys jobs remain open, and if Saleh is offered, he will go to New Orleans or Dallas.
That would be a whiff, sports fans. If you forgive the mixed metaphor.
So this is the rare Jock Blog that comes with an asterisk. Shout out the steroid era.
IF Saleh indeed takes the gig, the 49ers have answered perhaps their biggest off-season question not named Brock Purdy’s bank account with a resounding YES.
IF Saleh somehow backs out, the 49ers will have blown it and the off-season will be off to a terrible start.
But let’s be optimistic and say the likely event happens: Saleh is back.
The buffed and bald charismatic leader of Kyle Shanahan’s first Super Bowl team that lost a late lead in a crushing loss to the Kansas City Chiefs — not to be confused with Shanahan’s other Super Bowl team that lost a late lead in a crushing loss to the Kansas City Chiefs — arrived with Shanahan in 2017.
History lesson: early on, it wasn’t awesome. A 2017 49ers defense featured leading sack man Elvis Dumervil (!!) and tackle leaders Dontae Johnson and Reuben Foster (!!). That group was not stellar: 25th in points allowed, 16th in yards per play. Xs and Os, Jimmys and Joes, right?
The next year wasn’t hugely better: 28th in points allowed (gulp), but an improvement on yards per play, cracking the top-10 at eighth. Key developments emerged, though. Rookie linebacker Fred Warner led the team in tackles, and third-year defensive tackle DeForest Buckner had 12 sacks. Signs of life.
Then came 2019, and the NFC Championship. The criticisms of Saleh faded on the KNBR text line, the 49ers were the stingiest yards-per-play defense in the NFL and were eighth in the NFL in points allowed. They held Pat Mahomes and Andy Reid to 10 point through three quarters.
We won’t talk about the fourth quarter.
That’s a longer way of saying Saleh demonstrably improved the defense, and did so with flair and energy that captured fans. He rightfully got the New York Jets head coaching job in 2021, although I distinctly remember talking on-air that taking the Jets gig was a suicide mission, the organization was so awful. Sadly, we were prophetic.
I would imagine Saleh will get another crack at head coaching, which means his stay in Santa Clara may be short. But it’s still worth it. The Super Bowl window, as we have noted many times, is now and Saleh’s familiarity with Warner and Nick Bosa is a good place to start the 2025 defense. It can be a quick fix.
Sure, there is a giant void at defensive tackle. That alone could short-circuit Saleh’s 2025 defense. But the draft awaits, and so does free agency.
Bottom line is, the 49ers are emerging from the year from hell and needed good news, pronto. They get credit for landing their guy, even if the Saleh-or-bust strategy has caused some sweaty brows along the way. They went all in, passing on the likes of Jeff Ulbrich, who would have been a great hire, also. Saleh very well may not have been available, and the search could have blown up in their face. It appears that it worked out.
This is good news.
As long as it happens.
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