Eric Williams
NFL Reporter
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was surprised to see his former defensive coordinator Robert Saleh back on the job market after an unceremonious firing as the New York Jets head coach by owner Woody Johnson — a dismissal that included reportedly being escorted from the facility by security.
“I sent him a text, but I haven’t gotten to talk to him,” Shanahan told reporters this week. “And yeah, I was pretty shocked.
“That stuff throws you off, especially when they’re competing for first in the division this week. And I think they’re up there on defense and have got a pretty good team and a chance to have a hell of a year. So that was pretty surprising.”
While Saleh might be available, a return to San Francisco’s coaching staff this season appears unlikely. According to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle, Saleh plans to regroup and spend some time vacationing with family as he prepares for the next coaching cycle.
Saleh also has a guaranteed contract signed through the 2025 season at a reported $5 million a year, and any money he made with San Francisco would be offset by his current deal with New York.
But it wouldn’t be out of the question for Shanahan to explore a potential reunion with Saleh, who served as San Francisco’s defensive coordinator from 2017 to 2020, after this year.
Like Bill Belichick did during his two-decade tenure as the head coach of the New England Patriots, Shanahan would be welcoming back someone from his coaching tree who could bring a fresh perspective to a defense that has been inconsistent so far this season, struggling to find a rhythm under new defensive coordinator Nick Sorenson.
“You don’t ever have regrets,” Sorenson told reporters this week, when asked if he second-guesses himself after a rough game. “But there’s always things you want to improve on. And if I’m honest, there’s times I’m like, ‘God, I could have done this, but no, I…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/why-kyle-shanahan-robert-saleh-reunion-49ers-unlikely-this-season
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Publish date : 2024-10-09 20:50:29
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