Is There a Chance Robert Saleh Returns to the 49ers in 2021?

49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh was supposed to be one of the hottest candidates to become a head coach in 2021.

A team would be nuts to pass on such an intelligent and fired up person to lead their football team. However, this year's head coaching search seems odd. If you look at who all of the teams with head coach vacancies have interviewed, you'll see plenty of coaches who were not even mentioned as a potential hire until this week.

Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady suddenly emerged as a candidate despite only ONE year in the league. Then you have a dinosaur like Marvin Lewis who is returning to the light. Even Jason Garrett is getting an interview with the Chargers. Secondary coach of the Saints Aaron Glenn is another random name who is interviewing with the Jets.

The list goes on. It feels like there are over 20 candidates being interviewed as opposed to around the usual core of 10 that float around. Saleh is a respected coach, but the influx of candidates makes the competition extremely high.

So is there a chance Saleh returns to the 49ers in 2021?

I think there is now. Before the season ended, I had Saleh as a lock to become a head coach somewhere within two weeks of the offseason. But now that there is a mass wave of names being interviewed like never before, the odds of Saleh scoring a job decreases.

So why are there so many coaches being considered now?

My guess is because of remote interviewing. Since teams no longer have to invest time and money flying a coach in to interview them, they can get it done faster exponentially via Zoom. In this case, teams figure there is no reason not to interview so many people since it is much more convenient. Unfortunately for Saleh, that aspect could prove detrimental to him getting hired.

With so many names out there, vacancies will start dropping like flies. Saleh can no longer afford to be choosy, if he ever was, of where he wants to go. He is going to be in a position where he HAS to take a job if he really wants it.

My concern with that is he shouldn't feel forced to take a job just because. What if he gets hired by the Jets and it is a complete disaster because they are just a dysfunctional franchise? Then he would have tarnished some of his attractiveness of becoming a head coach again. For a guy like Saleh, he only deserves the best situation.

Although, I wouldn't put it past him to turn a poor situation into something great either. Just look at what he did this past season with the 49ers defense. Saleh should go to a team where he doesn't have to have that worry of things going south quickly.

If the ideal fit isn't there, then he should not take it. Run it back with the 49ers one more time in 2021 and take it from there. He will surely be a candidate again.

Now I still believe he will be named a head coach. As much as the 49ers would love for him back, I just don't see him missing out on a head coach position. At the very least, the Lions seem to be the team that will hire Saleh. He's from Michigan, so it'll be a homecoming for him. And the Lions have consistently been the team that Saleh has been connected to since Matt Patricia was fired.

Where there is smoke, there is fire.

Saleh to the Lions seems the likeliest to happen. Although for Saleh's sake, I am still crossing my fingers for him to be hired as the Chargers' next head coach.