Robert Saleh is back with the San Francisco 49ers as defensive coordinator for the 2025 season following a four-year stint as head coach of the New York Jets. Somehow it’s a relatively quiet offseason storyline for the 49ers, but don’t let that fool you — according to tight end George Kittle, the calm won’t last long.
Saleh’s return to the role he held from 2017-20 brings a renewed intensity on defense. Kittle is excited to have Saleh back in the building and knows firsthand what opponents should expect from the fiery defensive mind.
“Violence is coming is what I would say,” Kittle said Tuesday on The Rich Eisen Show.
Saleh first joined the 49ers’ staff in 2017, the same year Kyle Shanahan was hired as head coach. The two had previously worked together as assistants with the Houston Texans from 2006-09. In Saleh’s final two seasons as defensive coordinator in San Francisco, the 49ers ranked in the top five in total defense. They also finished in the top 10 in scoring defense in 2019, when San Francisco reached Super Bowl LIV before losing to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The 49ers have ranked in the top 10 in total defense each of the four seasons since Saleh left for the Jets, but they slipped to 28th in scoring defense in 2024 (25.6 points per game) after finishing in the top 10 the previous three years. That decline, paired with Saleh’s proven track record, made his return both timely and potentially transformational for a defense looking to rediscover its edge and get San Francisco back in the playoffs for another run at a Super Bowl.
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“He’s really good at his job, and I’m really excited that we somehow convinced him to be our defensive coordinator again,” Kittle said. “He knows what he’s talking about, he’s inspiring, he gets the boys fired up, and he just happens to also be really, really smart. So, I’m pumped to have him back in the building, just hanging out with him a little bit, talking about stuff. You can just tell he’s ready to roll this year, and he’s gonna get the boys fired up.”
Saleh was fired by the New York Jets after a 2-3 start last season. He ended his first head coaching tenure with a 20-36 (.357) overall record. Two weeks after his firing, Saleh joined the Green Bay Packers in a consultant role. He was rehired by San Francisco on Jan. 24.
“You learn a lot going through [being a head coach],” Saleh said in May. “But I’m happy to be back in this chair where I get to coach a little bit more football and not deal with the administrative stuff that comes with being a head coach.”
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