49ers Acknowledge Potential Robert Saleh Departure in 2026

The top downside in the 49ers reuniting with Robert Saleh is that he could be gone after the 2025 season.

Jan 12, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Green Bay Packers offensive consultant Robert Saleh on the sidelines during warmups against the Philadelphia Eagles in an NFC wild card game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Reuniting with Robert Saleh to be the defensive coordinator has a lot of benefits for the San Francisco 49ers.

However, it also has a few negatives, with one standing above the rest. The main downside of bringing Saleh back is that he could be gone after the 2025 season.

Saleh exhausted all options to be a head coach this offseason before rejoining the 49ers. That ambition likely won't dissipate after one season with the 49ers.

On Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings, Kyle Shanahan acknowledged that Saleh could potentially depart the 49ers in 2026.

"You understand that's his ultimate goal, and that is for almost every coach," said Shanahan. "If we had a hell of a year and we lost Saleh to another team, I'd be happy for him, disappointed for us but I think that would mean we were doing some pretty good things too. That's something that you've got to be prepared for in this league. We are on offense, we are on defense, we are on special teams, and it's something everyone's got to deal with."

The 49ers aren't naïve. They know Saleh has head coaching aspirations. I'm sure they discussed that with him as well and are prepared for it.

It would be a bummer if he left after one season. As Shanahan said, it would mean the defense had a fantastic season, which would allow Saleh to earn head coaching stock.

Given the lack of talent on defense with key departures like Dre Greenlaw, the odds are in the 49ers' favor to retain Saleh beyond 2025. It'll be tough for Saleh to thrive when the 49ers are filling a lot of vacancies with this year's draft.

However, you never know if the 49ers somehow get some surprise contributors. It happened last year with the 2024 draft class.

That would allow Saleh to run his defense optimally. I'm not banking on that to happen, but it is on the table. So long as Saleh gets the 49ers' defense to improve significantly, he will potentially depart.

For now, the 49ers are extremely happy he is back and are looking forward to rebuilding the team with him like they did back in 2017.

"It feels like he never left," said Shanahan. "We've got so many people in our building that was here when Saleh was here last time... I feel fortunate to get him back in our building."