49ers DC Robert Saleh Reportedly Declined Interview for Michigan State HC Job

First, it was Pat Narduzzi declining to meet with Michigan State about taking over the head coaching gig. Now, it's San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh turning down an opportunity to speak with the Spartans. 

According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Saleh informed MSU officials he wouldn't be leaving the Niners at this time. 

Saleh transformed San Francisco's defense into one of the fiercest units in football last season. The Niners gave up the second-fewest yards per game in the league (281.8) with an NFL-best 23 forced fumbles. Along the way, San Francisco won the NFC West and advanced to the Super Bowl before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs. 

At 41 years old, Saleh has become one of the game's rising stars on the sidelines and has been mentioned among the next crop of NFL head coach candidates. Before landing with the 49ers in 2017, Saleh was the linebackers coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2014-2016, spending three years before then as a quality coach with the Seattle Seahawks.

Yet it's the college game where Saleh rose to prominence.  The Dearborn, Michigan, native spent two years with Michigan State as a defensive assistant from 2002-2003. 

Whatever pull MSU officials were hoping they had given his background wasn't strong enough. Saleh is close to either winning a Super Bowl with the Niners or being named a head coach elsewhere in the league. Michigan State will have to continue looking for Mark Dantonio's replacement elsewhere.