The San Francisco 49ers have to find another defensive coordinator as Robert Saleh leaves big void to take second head coach stint.
Unfortunately, there are some NFL teams who seem to have a harder time keeping coordinators than others, which often comes with success. The San Francisco 49ers are certainly one of those teams whose playcallers get poached. After having to replace defensive coordinator Robert Saleh in 2020, head coach Kyle Shanahan promoted inside linebackers coach DeMeco Ryans, who was there for two seasons until heading to coach the Houston Texans. After a few more coordinators, Saleh returned to the defensive coordinator role for the 2025 season. But he will now get his second shot at a head coaching job, as the Tennessee Titans are hiring Saleh as their next head coach.
Saleh was the head coach of the New York Jets from 2021 to 2024. Things never worked out there, and his stint was all but summed up by making a huge play for Aaron Rodgers, and him rupturing his Achilles moments into the 2023 season opener. Per ESPN, one of the things Saleh learned in New York was to “better connect with the whole roster,” and that’s something he worked on when he returned to the Niners. He will now take over a team with a young quarterback to build around in Cam Ward, the No. 1 overall pick last year.
Here is the full story from 49ers Roundtable writer Nick Crain on Saleh’s future and what San Francisco will try to do next.
Something that factored into Saleh’s decision was the ability to call defensive plays with the Titans – something he didn’t do with the Jets. As Saleh now moves on to Tennessee and will begin work to find his own coordinators, Shanahan is left to do the same yet again. It’s not great timing when openings for both head coach and coordinator roles have been conducted and filled league-wide for weeks already, but it’s certainly an enticing spot that has seen a ton of upwards mobility from the coordinator positions.