Robert Saleh: 49ers’ coordinator, Jets getting serious.
Robert Saleh’s courtship with the Jets has reached the meettheparents stage.
The 49ers’ defensive coordinator traveled to meet with the Jets for an inperson interview Tuesday after he had a virtual interview with the team Friday, NFL Network reported. Saleh is the first known finalist for the headcoach opening, although the Jets are expected to bring in other candidates.
Saleh, 41, has been a popular candidate during the current hiring cycle. Saleh also has interviewed with the Chargers, Falcons, Lions and Jaguars. In addition, the Eagles, who fired head coach Doug Pederson on Monday, have requested permission to interview Saleh, ESPN reported.
It appears the Texans are the only team with a headcoaching vacancy that won’t interview Saleh.
Saleh is in demand after the 49ers finished 610. Since 2018, nine of the 10 coordinators who have become head coaches were with a playoff team the season before they were hired. The exception is Tennessee’s Mike Vrabel, who was hired in 2018 after he was the defensive coordinator for the 412 Texans.
Saleh’s popularity is a result of the work he did with a defense that endured an inordinate amount of injuries. The 49ers ranked fifth in the NFL in total defense with three Pro Bowl players, cornerback Richard Sherman and pass rushers Nick Bosa and Dee Ford, combining to play eight games.
In 2019, Saleh oversaw the league’s secondranked defense, which led the 49ers’ Super Bowl run. Saleh had inherited a defense that ranked 32nd in the NFL in 2016. The 49ers ranked 24th and 13th, respectively, in his first two seasons.
Meanwhile, if Saleh leaves the 49ers, two former head coaches who would have been logical candidates to replace him are no longer available.
The Raiders hired Gus Bradley as their defensive coordinator Tuesday, a day after the Cowboys hired Dan Quinn for the same role.
Bradley and Quinn, like Saleh, run a 43 defense. The 49ers pursued Bradley in 2017, but he joined the Chargers, and the 49ers hired Saleh. Head coach Kyle Shanahan worked under Quinn in 2015 and 2016 when Shanahan was the Falcons’ offensive coordinator and Quinn was the head coach who led them to a Super Bowl berth in the 2016 season.
The 49ers have at least one inhouse candidate in inside linebackers coach DeMeco Ryans. Raheem Morris, who finished the season as the Falcons’ interim head coach, is another possibility. Morris has spent six seasons working with Shanahan.
The 49ers will be awarded a thirdround pick in the next two drafts if Saleh is hired based on the NFL’s new program that awards teams that lose minority coaches to headcoach or generalmanager positions.
Based on the program, the 49ers will receive that draft compensation if vice president of player personnel Martin Mayhew earns a GM job. On Tuesday, Washington requested to interview Mayhew for its GM vacancy.
The thirdround picks teams receive through the program will be slotted after the compensatory picks in the third round.
In other news, the Panthers reportedly will have a second interview with 49ers vice president of player personnel Adam Peters. Tennessee’s Monti Ossenfort and Seattle’s Scott Fitterer also will have second interviews with Carolina.