The San Francisco 49ers and head coach Kyle Shanahan announced that Robert Saleh has been named as the team's defensive coordinator.
Saleh, 45, returns to the 49ers after spending three-plus seasons (2021-24) as head coach of the New York Jets. During his time in New York, Saleh guided four different players in their first four years in the NFL to earn Associated Press First-Team All-Pro honors (WR Braxton Berrios, CB Sauce Gardner & DL Quinnen Williams) and Pro Bowl appearances (Gardner, LB Jermaine Johnson II & Williams). The Jets defense excelled with Saleh at the helm, ranking in the top 10 in the NFL in multiple categories over the 2022 and 2023 seasons. During that span (2022-23), Saleh's Jets ranked first in passing yards allowed per game (178.9) and opponent yards per play (4.7), second in total defense (301.7) and sixth in opponent yards per rush (4.1). The unit also tallied 93 sacks and 29 interceptions during that time, tied for the eighth and 10th-most, respectively, in the NFL. In 2022, Saleh was responsible for the development of the NFL's Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year in WR Garrett Wilson and Gardner, making the Jets the third team in NFL history to have both rookie players win the honor.
In Saleh's first stint as defensive coordinator for the 49ers (2017-20), he led a unit that ranked third in passing yards allowed per game (211.4), fourth in total defense (323.6) and opponent yards per play (5.1) and sixth in opponent yards per rush (4.1) during his tenure. In 2019, Saleh was named Coordinator of the Year by Sporting News and helped the 49ers reach Super Bowl LIV by calling a defense that ranked first in passing yards allowed per game (169.2), second in total defense (281.8) and tied-for-second in third-down defense (33.3%). The unit featured the 2019 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in DL Nick Bosa, as well as two Second-Team All-Pro selections in DL DeForest Buckner and CB Richard Sherman. In Buckner, Bosa, Sherman and LB Fred Warner, Saleh produced four Pro Bowl players in his first stint with the 49ers.
Prior to joining San Francisco, Saleh spent three seasons (2014-16) as linebackers coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars and three seasons (2011-13) as defensive quality control for the Seattle Seahawks, where he was a part of the Super Bowl XLVIII winning staff. He began his NFL coaching career by spending six seasons with the Houston Texans, serving as a defensive intern (2005), defensive quality control (2006-08) and assistant linebackers coach (2009-10). Saleh began his coaching career in the collegiate ranks, serving as a defensive assistant on the staffs of Michigan State (2002-03), Central Michigan (2004) and Georgia (2005).
A native of Dearborn, MI, Saleh attended Northern Michigan University where he started at tight end for four years. Saleh and his wife, Sanaa, have seven children: five sons, Adam, Zane, Michael, Sam and Jacob, and two daughters, Mila and Ella.
