The San Francisco 49ers are doing their best to hold onto a playoff spot down the stretch of the regular season, and the fact that they are even in contention for the postseason, despite all the injuries they have dealt with this season, is quite impressive. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has done a great job of getting the most out of his roster, but he’s not the only guy responsible for the team’s success.
One of the biggest developments for the Niners this season has been the return of Robert Saleh as the team’s defensive coordinator. Despite having a failed stint as the New York Jets‘ head coach on his resume, Saleh drew quite a bit of interest across the league last offseason. Reports have emerged indicating he received a very lucrative offer from the Las Vegas Raiders that he turned down in order to return to San Fran, which Shanahan opted to recently address.
Kyle Shanahan Discusses Latest Robert Saleh Report
“He had many opportunities. That was one of them. He got close to a couple of head coaching jobs too. He was our first choice, and so was his. Glad he stuck to his word. We would have had beef. I hope for us he’s not
Saleh initially put himself on the radar of teams across the NFL as a potential head coach candidate when he was San Francisco’s defensive coordinator from 2017 to 2020. That landed him his gig with the Jets, and while things didn’t work out for him there, he still was viewed as one of the top defensive minds in the league.
After spending time with the Green Bay Packers as an offensive consultant in the wake of his firing from the Jets early in the 2024 campaign, Saleh generated quite a bit of interest as a potential head coach or defensive coordinator. As we know now, he opted to return to Shanahan’s staff, and he’s expected to be a top candidate for several head coach vacancies this upcoming offseason.
Reports have indicated, though, that Saleh may have passed up bigger offers in order to return to the 49ers. The Raiders were one team that was in on Saleh, and they offered him their defensive coordinator position, which would eventually lead to him becoming their head coach. He turned it down, though, and when discussing the report, Shanahan made it clear how happy he was to welcome his old friend back to town.
“I think Robert had a lot of opportunities to be a d-coordinator, that was definitely one of them,” Shanahan said when speaking to reporters. “He got close to a couple of head coaching jobs in that time, too. He was definitely our first choice, and we were hoping that we would be his … I hope for us he’s not a head coach next year, but I also know when you have the talent that someone like Robert does, it’s only a matter of time.”
49ers Could Lose Robert Saleh Once Again this Offseason
Getty49ers’ defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is expected to be a top head coach candidate this offseason
Teams always want their coordinators to put together strong bodies of work, but when they do that, it often leads to head coaching opportunities. That’s the position Saleh finds himself in currently, as the work he’s done with the Niners’ beat-up defense has earned him quite a bit of attention that could lead to him taking another new job over the upcoming offseason.
First, Saleh has some unfinished business with San Francisco, though. The Niners currently have the inside track to earn a wild-card spot in the NFC, but they cannot take their foot off the gas pedal. They will be looking to earn their 10th win of the season in Week 15 when they square off against the Tennessee Titans at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon.
49ers’ Kyle Shanahan Addresses Robert Saleh Raiders Offer Report