49ers will hire former Super Bowl champion as key coach on one condition: report

It feels like just yesterday when the San Francisco 49ers were competing for a chance to win Super Bowl LVIII. While they came just four points shy of hoisting last year’s Lombardi Trophy, the 49ers fell well short of their goals this season, missing the playoffs altogether.

Now the franchise is formulating a plan to return to the playoffs next season, but changes will have to be made.

One move that’s already been decided is changing defensive coordinators after Nick Sorensen’s defense ranked 29th in points allowed. The 49ers have been hunting for a replacement, and they have a big name on their radar. 

According to NBCSports’ 49ers insider Matt Maiocco, Robert Saleh is “in line to be” the 49ers’ defensive coordinator again. 

"Robert Saleh is in line to be 49ers defensive coordinator, source says, unless he ends up with head-coaching position," Maiocco writes. "If he is a defensive coordinator this season, it’ll be with the 49ers, he told the team."

Saleh is still under consideration to become the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. If Saleh becomes the favorite in Dallas, he obviously won’t be taking the 49ers’ defensive coordinator job.

With only one NFL head coaching vacancy remaining, the chances of Saleh returning to the 49ers, where he spent four seasons as their defensive coordinator, continue to increase.

Saleh has been involved in two Super Bowl efforts. The first of which came in 2013, when he served as the defensive quality control coach for the Seattle Seahawks, who won Super Bowl XLVIII. He became the Jacksonville Jaguars' linebackers coach the next year, where he remained for three seasons. 

He then became the 49ers' defensive coordinator in 2017, where he remained for four seasons, including during their Super Bowl run in 2019. A year later, he landed the New York Jets' head coaching job, largely thanks to his profound success controlling San Francisco's defense. 

During Saleh’s time calling plays for San Francisco’s defense, they had a top-five unit in yards allowed twice and ranked top-five in points allowed once. If he can return the 49ers to that type of glory, they just might be able to return to the promised land again. 

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