SANTA CLARA -- Coach Kyle Shanahan strongly suggested Friday that he plans to retain 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh on his coaching staff for the foreseeable future.
“Saleh is a very, very good coach,” Shanahan said. “He always has been. He still is, and he’s not a finished product, either, like we all aren’t. I think Saleh will continue to get better because he works at it. He’s very smart, and I think he’s good right now.”
The 49ers defense ranks 12th in the NFL in total yards allowed. The unit is ranked 15th against the run and 13th against the pass. The 49ers are 29th in the league in points allowed.
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SIGN UP HERE Shanahan hired Saleh to implement a defense similar to the scheme Seattle has used successfully for most of the past decade. But the 49ers have struggled to find a consistent four-man pass rush, which is a necessity while deploying a cover-3 zone in the secondary.
The 49ers (2-10) also have been impacted by injuries in the defensive backfield, especially at safety. Adrian Colbert and Jimmie Ward are on injured reserve, while Jaquiski Tartt also has missed time with a shoulder injury. Tartt will not play Sunday against the Denver Broncos.
There figure to be some changes ahead in the offseason, but Shanahan said there will be a time to finalize the plan of what needs to happen.
“I know we’re going to have some tough decisions to make, just personnel-wise, possibly staff-wise, just the whole building,” Shanahan said. “But I try not to make any decisions until the time comes. I want to let this all play out.
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“You never want to make decisions just to make decisions. When you do have a bad year like we have, just record-wise, I know that’s what people want. They want drastic change. They want quick answers. The key though is to get it right and to make sure you do the best thing possible to put our team in the best chance possible to win. That’s what we’re going to do hard after this year.”