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The 49ers bring back Robert Saleh for 2nd stint as defensive coordinator, AP source says

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers are bringing back Robert Saleh for a second stint as defensive coordinator after a failed tenure as head coach of the New York Jets.

A person familiar with the choice told The Associated Press on Friday night that Saleh will rejoin the Niners after leaving to take over the Jets following the 2020 season. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the hiring hadn’t been announced.

Saleh will be fourth defensive coordinator in four seasons for San Francisco. DeMeco Ryans, who replaced Saleh in 2021, left to become head coach in Houston following the 2022 season, and Steve Wilks and Nick Sorensen were each replaced after one season the past two years.

Saleh had been a candidate for head coaching jobs with Jacksonville, Dallas and Las Vegas. But once those spots all got filled, Saleh made the decision to return to San Francisco as a coordinator to help rebuild a unit that was one of the league’s most dominant at the end of his first tenure.

Saleh was hired as Shanahan’s first defensive coordinator in 2017 and struggled the first two seasons. But after the team drafted defensive end Nick Bosa in 2019 and implemented the “wide nine” scheme that featured edge rushers lining up wide and focusing on getting up field, the defense took off.

San Francisco went to the Super Bowl in the 2019 season and still had a strong season the following season when Bosa missed almost the entire year with a knee injury, leading to Saleh getting the head coaching job with the Jets.

Saleh was fired midway through this past season in New York, but the Jets had a strong defense under his tenure.

The 49ers regressed this season under Sorensen as the injury-filled unit struggled to create turnovers, stop the run and create consistent pressure on the quarterback.

San Francisco ranked 29th in the league in scoring defense, allowing 25.6 points per game, and was tied for the seventh-fewest takeaways with 17. The Niners had just two takeaways over the final nine games and ended the season allowing at least 40 points in back-to-back games for the first time since 2015.

The 49ers are also conducting searches for an offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator. Passing game specialist Klay Kubiak is expected to get promoted into the offensive coordinator spot that hasn’t been filled since Mike McDaniel left following the 2021 season to become head coach in Miami.

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