49ers' plans for defensive coordinator at risk of being ruined by their former GM, and their own inexplicable approach
Nearly a decade on from the end of his tenure as their general manager, the San Francisco 49ers are once again being hindered by the failings of Trent Baalke. The man whose power struggle with Jim Harbaugh brought about the end of an extremely successful era of 49ers football and then proceeded to hire two […]
Nearly a decade on from the end of his tenure as their general manager, the San Francisco 49ers are once again being hindered by the failings of Trent Baalke.
The man whose power struggle with Jim Harbaugh brought about the end of an extremely successful era of 49ers football and then proceeded to hire two one-and-done coaches in Jim Tomsula and Chip Kelly was fired as general manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars on Wednesday.
That decision came after Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen pulled himself out of contention for their vacant head coach position. Coen had been considered the favorite and his withdrawal followed reports that now Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson did not like the setup in Jacksonville.
Both decisions were evidently a reflection on Baalke, whose dismissal now puts the Jags in position to hire their preferred candidate without the obstacle of his reputation hindering him.
And their preferred candidate could well be the man the 49ers would like to hire as their defensive coordinator.
Robert Saleh, the 49ers' defensive coordinator from 2017 to 2020 was, prior to Baalke's firing, seen as a potential favorite for the Jaguars role following the Coen news. Saleh is due to have a second interview with Jacksonville on Friday. Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham is also scheduled to have a second interview.
So with Coen out of the picture and the issue of Baalke no longer a problem for Jacksonville, the Jaguars are seemingly in a very good position to hire Saleh if they wish and ruin the 49ers' plans to have him replace for Nick Sorensen.
Saleh is one of only two confirmed interviewees for his old job. The other is DeShea Townsend, the Detroit Lions defensive passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach. Head coach Kyle Shanahan also said at the 49ers' end of season press conference that Brandon Staley would receive consideration after working as assistant head coach/defense in 2024.
So, thanks to the reputation attached to their former GM and a coordinator search that appears to have been focused almost entirely on one candidate with no hint of a a backup plan beyond Staley, the 49ers are seemingly on the brink of missing out on Saleh and having no compelling alternatives.
Back in 2021 after coaching the best defense in the league during his time as a coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams, Staley would have been a compelling alternative.
However, Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard, posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday that he does not believe Staley would be a 100 percent popular hire inside the locker room.
One of the biggest issues that plagued the 49er defense under Sorensen in 2024 was inflexibility. As such, the Niners would have benefited from casting a wide net and interviewing an array of coaches who could bring in tweaks to the system, which has its origins in Seattle's Cover 3 defense, they have run throughout Shanahan's tenure.
Instead, the 49ers have kept the search inexplicably small, and now they could be forced to make a hire that the locker room is not entirely sold on. Things might have been different had Baalke been fired at the start of the offseason, but Jacksonville's incompetence does not excuse that of San Francisco. If they aren't already examining alternatives, the 49ers quickly need to start doing so, or they will risk looking extremely foolish should Saleh accept the job in Jacksonville.
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He would fill the void and then some.
