The San Francisco 49ers added a new first priority to their offseason plate when head coach Kyle Shanahan fired defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen.
They’ve been swift in looking for Sorensen’s replacement, completing their first two interviews Thursday with others likely coming soon.
One of the first two candidates they interviewed was Robert Saleh, who was San Francisco’s DC from 2017-20 before being hired as the New York Jets head coach. According to a report from ESPN’s Dan Graziano, NFL personnel believe Saleh is the favorite in the 49ers’ search.
That’s not a huge surprise since one report early in the process noted the 49ers were ready to offer Saleh the job.
However, the 49ers can’t put all their eggs in that basket since Saleh is also interviewing for the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach opening. Saleh was the Jaguars linebackers coach before joining the 49ers as their defensive coordinator, so a reunion would make sense.
San Francisco should have other candidates lined up in the event Saleh lands the Jaguars job. Head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters in his end-of-season press conference that assistant head coach Brandon Staley would get an interview. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler also noted the team’s extreme interest in former New York Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich last season. The Jets didn’t allow Ulbrich to get out of his contract, but it stands to reason he’d be on the 49ers’ short list if they don’t land Saleh.
Fowler also wrote that his “sense is veteran players there are tired of the lack of continuity after back-to-back coordinator hirings and firings.” That puts additional pressure on Shanahan to get this hire right to ensure next offseason doesn’t include another firing. It should also put some pressure on the team to begin grooming an internal candidate to step in should the next DC get hired away as a head coach. They haven’t done that since DeMeco Ryans left and its put them in a spot where they’re on a third DC search in three seasons.
