Kyle Shanahan throws curveball candidate into 49ers defensive coordinator mix amid Robert Saleh reports
With Robert Saleh on the market following his firing by the New York Jets back in October, it did not take long for him to be linked with a reunion with the San Francisco 49ers in the wake of their decision to relieve Nick Sorensen of his duties as defensive coordinator. After it emerged on […]
With Robert Saleh on the market following his firing by the New York Jets back in October, it did not take long for him to be linked with a reunion with the San Francisco 49ers in the wake of their decision to relieve Nick Sorensen of his duties as defensive coordinator.
After it emerged on Tuesday that the 49ers had decided to make a change at defensive coordinator after Sorensen's disappointing first season overseeing that unit, Josina Anderson reported San Francisco is expected to make Saleh an offer to return.
Saleh was the 49ers' defensive coordinator from 2017 to 2020 before being hired as the Jets head coach.
Following their coaching changes, with the 49ers also firing special teams coordinator Brian Schneider after a dreadful year for San Francisco in that facet of the game, head coach Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch held an end-of-season press conference.
Shanahan was not asked directly about the Saleh report but said of the decision to go in a different direction at defensive coordinator: "I feel there's some options out there that could end up being a better option than the situation we're in for our football team. I do feel there are some other avenues that in the long run will be better for the 49ers."
One of those potential other avenues involves a member of the current staff, with Shanahan revealing Brandon Staley will be given a shot to interview for the position.
"The internal one I'll give Staley a shot just talking to him, he's been here, there will be a lot of guys outside the building too," Shanahan added.
Staley spent the 2024 season with the title assistant head coach/defense and Shanahan's decision to give the former Los Angeles Chargers head coach a look may be seen as a surprising given his involvement in working with a defense that experienced a significant drop-off from its 2023 standards.
Though Staley oversaw the league's best defense in his time as a coordinator with the Los Angeles Rams in 2020, his stock has dropped significantly since then, and promoting him would be seen by many as an uninspiring move.
But Staley evidently won't be judged on what happened with the defense in 2024, with Shanahan interested in finding a candidate who can enhance their longtime scheme, which has its roots in Seattle's Cover 3 defense, with changeups that were too rarely a part of Sorensen's approach.
"I love the scheme that we’ve had here. I think it’s one of the hardest things to go to when you’ve got the right guys in the right spots," said Shanahan.
"But, I do think people adjust to schemes, and I think you have to adjust too depending on your personnel. And I think that was a tougher thing for us this year. Just going into the season, it was a little bit harder than past seasons and some of the injuries we had, I think, made it really tough for Nick.
"And I thought he got better trying to adjust and do different things, but I do think that’s something that definitely, I’m not saying you’ve got to change schemes, but you have to have the ability, the history and the knowledge of how to change some stuff up when you’re in some certain situations. And I think that we do need that more going forward."
Brock Purdy will soon be receiving a raise regardless of whether he gets his wish over 49ers contract talks
A bump in salary is already secured.
