PALM BEACH, Fla. — Bouncing back from a 6-11 2024 NFL season will be a challenge for the 49ers, but coach Kyle Shanahan is receiving a little help from a friend.
The re-hiring of Robert Saleh as San Francisco's defensive coordinator could be considered the biggest “free-agent” signing of the 49ers' offseason. Shanahan recently shared during an open session at the NFL Annual meeting why bringing the defensive guru back to the Bay Area was so important.
"We talk about everything,” Shanahan said. “So whatever we discuss with all of the coaches, I discuss it with coordinators more than anything. That was one of the main reasons, or more exciting reasons for me to get Robert back. I know how good at X's and O's he is and how well he runs his side of the ball.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
“But going through this with Robert once before, where we really had to build it and change things up and add things and take things away, I went through it with him once before and we did a pretty good job at it. We learned a lot going through it, and he’s only learned that much more going through it again on another staff.”
Saleh’s first stint as 49ers DC was as part of Shanahan’s first staff in 2017. The defense was in the cellar in several metrics across the board, but in three seasons, the 49ers boasted one of the stingiest units in the NFL and a defensive line that included Nick Bosa, Dee Ford, Arik Armstead (who is now with the Jacksonville Jaguars), Indianapolis Colts’ DeForest Buckner and Denver Broncos' D.J. Jones.
That 2019 roster leaned heavily on a defensive line that generated 48 quarterback sacks during the regular season after notching 36 the season prior.
The 49ers also had talent at the second level with Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw (now on the Denver Broncos) at linebacker as well as Richard Sherman and Jimmie Ward (Houston Texans) beyond them.
San Francisco 49ers
Find the latest San Francisco 49ers news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
In 2021, Saleh was hired as coach of the New York Jets. Even after rebuilding a successful defense, the coach's tenure in the AFC East did not go successfully, and he was relieved of his duties in the middle of the 2024 season.
“It feels like he never left,” Shanahan said. “We’ve got so many people in our building that were here when Saleh was here last time. It’s really great to have him back in the building. Just going through this the first time where we came in and took over and our defense was ranked 32 at that time.
“Having to build it through a couple of years and get it to where it was in 2019 and watching him do it with another team over the past three years, just bringing him back, the experience he has with that, the experience we have doing that together, I feel fortunate to get him back in our building.”
Shanahan has spent the past two seasons attempting to help his DCs adjust to the 49ers' defensive scheme, and it has not gone smoothly. The team let Steve Wilks and Nick Sorensen go after one-year stints in the position.
Saleh will need no introduction to Shanahan’s vision for how the defense should look and behave.
“Having his experience with [rebuilding the defense] and the experience we both have going through it together has made it a lot more comfortable for me just being able to use his expertise because we’ve both done it before.” Shanahan said.