Salah drawing coaching interest
Edge rushers Nick Bosa and Dee Ford were lost for the season by Week 2. The secondary has been a revolving door all season as stalwarts like Richard Sherman, Jaquiski Tartt and K’Waun Williams are among those dealing with injuries.
Through it all, the San Francisco 49ers have still managed to put together one of the league’s top defenses thanks in large part to their defensive coordinator, who is making his case to be one of the top head coaching candidates at the end of the season.
“You’ve got to give Robert Saleh an abundance of credit. You have to give him an unusual amount of credit, and I don’t think he’s getting enough credit not only here but in the league, in general,” Sherman said. “To have the injuries that we’ve had week after week after week, the setbacks week after week. ... He’s not making any excuses. He’s making great plans week in and week out and we’re making it happen. I expect him to be a head coach next year because of what he’s able to do. He’s able to rally men. He’s a leader of men and that goes a long way.”
Saleh inherited one of the worst defenses in the league when he arrived in 2017 and helped turn it into a dominant unit that helped the Niners reach the Super Bowl last season and remain in contention this season despite the string of injuries on both sides of the ball.
San Francisco (5-6) ranks in the top 10 in several key defensive categories, including yards allowed per game, yards allowed per play, passer rating against and overall efficiency by Football Outsiders as he has built on the system he learned as a position coach in Seattle and made it into his own.
“I think he just knows exactly who he is and what he wants his defense to look like in terms of our core values as a defense, playing with effort, technique, violence,” linebacker Fred Warner said. “We know exactly what we’re going to do. We’re not going to do a lot. We’re just going to do it fast and as physical as we can. That’s what makes him so great. He makes sure there’s no gray area in terms of coaching and teaching. There’s a lot of coaches out there who just coach. But he’s a great teacher.”