49ers Need a Contingency Plan for Robert Saleh

It seems like the 49ers are waiting on Robert Saleh as he goes on a tour for head coaching vacancies.
Oct 6, 2024; London, United Kingdom; New York Jets coach Robert Saleh reacts against the Minnesota Vikings in the first half at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Oct 6, 2024; London, United Kingdom; New York Jets coach Robert Saleh reacts against the Minnesota Vikings in the first half at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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The San Francisco 49ers have interviewed more coaches for their special teams coordinator role than defensive coordinator.

It is odd considering defensive coordinator is the more crucial position. The 49ers have only made known their interviews with former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh and Detroit Lions defensive backs coach Deshea Townsend.

Maybe the 49ers have interviewed another candidate or two on the sly, but that is unlikely. It makes no sense to keep that quiet. I think the reason the 49ers haven't interviewed anyone else is because they have already decided on bringing back Saleh.

They are just waiting for him to go through his head coaching interviews with the Las Vegas Raiders, Jacksonville Jaguars, and now the Dallas Cowboys. The 49ers seem to have placed all of their chips on the table on Saleh, which is a bad decision.

The 49ers need a contingency plan for Saleh. What if he ends up liking the situation with the Jaguars and they give him a hard-to-refuse offer? He spent three seasons with them from 2014 to 2016, so he's familiar with Jaguars owner Shad Khan.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones could also be sold on Saleh given his leadership qualities. In any case, Saleh can get one of these head coaching jobs. The Cowboys interview was revealed on Wednesday, so there could end up being another team that reaches out to him.

If Saleh ends up taking a head coaching position, the 49ers will look like fools for not conducting more interviews. It has been a week since they parted ways with Nick Sorensen as defensive coordinator. Instead of two coaches interviewed, the 49ers should have at least four by now.

That is why they are exhausting their efforts on special teams coordinator. They are are currently placing their defensive coordinator search on hold while Saleh considers his options. Once Saleh decides, they will either move on with him or without him and continue their search.

The issue is that they shouldn't be waiting. They need to start slimming down candidates now so that they don't have to wait for Saleh. What if Saleh makes his decision in a week from now? The candidates for defensive coordinator will most likely be slimmer.

The 49ers better be right about Saleh coming back. That's likely what they are thinking so they aren't looking at anyone else as defensive coordinator. Not having a contingency plan will only delay their hiring process and lose out on other candidates.

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Jose Luis Sanchez III
JOSE LUIS SANCHEZ III

Jose Luis Sanchez III has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily for FanNation since 2019. He started off as the lead publisher for FanNation's All49ers, then switched positions to become the Deputy Editor in 2020. Sanchez writes, edits, and produces videos daily for All49ers. He also co-hosts a show on YouTube with All49ers lead publisher Grant Cohn weekly. Prior to FanNation, Sanchez started his writing career back in 2016 for the school newspaper at Skyline college where he covered all sports team in the Bay Area. Following that from 2017 to 2019, he found a role as a contributor for FanSided's news desk along with their site's Just Blog Baby covering the Las Vegas Raiders and Golden Gate Sports every professional Bay Area sports team. Atop all of that, he was able to graduate with a Bachelors degree in Communication Studies at San Francisco State University in 2020. Sanchez is committed to ensuring he delivers transparent analysis and straightforward opinions that resonates with readers to get them thinking.