Robert Saleh 'Indebted' to 49ers, Has 'Really Cool Concepts' in Store for 2nd DC Stint

Robert Saleh is back with the San Francisco 49ers for his second stint as defensive coordinator, and he expressed his gratitude toward the organization in a press conference with reporters on Thursday (h/t ESPN's Nick Wagoner).

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for this organization," Saleh said. "If you think about those first two years as the coordinator in '17 and '18, it wasn't easy, and it could have been very easy for them to move on for me. I'm indebted to this organization, to those men for the rest of my life. They stuck with me, and we made it happen. We did what we needed to do, and the rest is history. I'm excited about the opportunity to get a chance to do it again with them."

Saleh was the 49ers' defensive coordinator in 2017 and 2018. San Francisco's defense struggled in both years, finishing 25th and then 28th in scoring. But the 49ers enjoyed a vast improvement in 2019 (No. 8) en route to the NFC title.

Two years later, the New York Jets hired Saleh as their head coach. It didn't work out in town and then to a 2024 midseason firing, but he was a popular head coach and DC candidate this offseason. He didn't get the head coaching gig but found his way back to San Francisco, which was in the market for a DC after parting ways with Nick Sorensen.

As far as 2025 is concerned, Saleh hinted at some new concepts for the year.

"You're always trying to stay two years ahead of offense," Saleh said, per Wagoner. "When we went to the Jets, there was a lot of different things that we started to do, and even now while we have some things from the Jets, there's stuff that has evolved over the course of the last four years here, and obviously with the league that there's stuff happening.

"Over this offseason, a lot of really cool concepts, a lot of really cool things. Some things are the same, some things are the same from the Jets, some things are meshed, some things are coming in that's new. ... A lot of it may seem similar but there's a lot of nuances that makes a difference."

Saleh certainly has great talent to work with in San Francisco led by Fred Warner and Nick Bosa. We'll see how his second go-around in San Francisco goes soon enough, but optimism is obviously high with a familiar face back in town.