Robert Saleh and Nick Bosa are a 49ers wrecking crew
By John Buhler
The San Francisco 49ers have the best record in the NFC, thanks in large part to Robert Saleh’s great defense and rookie pass-rushing sensation Nick Bosa.
Two teams in the NFL are undefeated through Week 8. One comes as no surprise.
The New England Patriots are a perfect 8-0 by navigating a soft schedule and playing out-of-this-world defense. This is largely expected, as the Patriots dominate the AFC with Bill Belichick on the sidelines and cornerback Stephon Gilmore playing at All-Pro level in the defensive backfield.
The other? Well, that one might shock you. The San Francisco 49ers are perfect too at 7-0. They are playing great defense as well under defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and have their superstar playmaker on defense in rookie pass-rushing phenom Nick Bosa.
Though the New Orleans Saints and the Green Bay Packers are right on their tails in the NFC standings, the 49ers are a wrecking crew defensively. It’s keyed their first-half success and the NFL world has taken notice.
Saleh’s defense has allowed just 1,571 yards this season, 11.0 points per game and has forced 16 turnovers. Those totals rank first, second and third in the NFL through eight weeks, respectively.
Only the Patriots have allowed fewer points per contest at an otherworldly 7.6. That’s over a full point better than Grits Blitz territory of 9.2 by the 1977 Atlanta Falcons. The only teams to have forced more turnovers than San Francisco this season are the Patriots (25) and the Pittsburgh Steelers (19). Keep in mind that five of those turnovers came vs. San Francisco back in Week 3.
Saleh is only in his third year as the 49ers defensive coordinator, but he could start to garner attention as an NFL head coach, possibly as soon as 2020. Though only 40 years old, Saleh has put together a strong resume as a defensive coach in the NFL since 2005.
He has previously worked under Richard Smith as part of Gary Kubiak’s staff with the Houston Texans (2005-10), Pete Carroll with the Seattle Seahawks (2011-13) and then followed Carroll’s former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley to the Jacksonville Jaguars (2014-16) before joining Kyle Shanahan’s staff as defensive coordinator beginning in 2017.
It may be a year or two out, but Saleh has the makings of a future NFL head coach. He’ll surely get his opportunity to lead one of 32 NFL franchises before his mid-40s. If his defense continues to play at this level, he might be one of the six-to-eight new head coaches in the NFL next year. The coaching carousel will turn and maybe he will hop on it after three years in the Bay Area.
But why would he want to leave something that is just starting to get good in San Francisco? This is only the first year Bosa has played professionally, as he was the No. 2 overall pick out of Ohio State in the 2019 NFL Draft. If he can improve on his rookie season in any capacity, we’re looking at a generational talent along the San Francisco defensive line.
In his first seven NFL games, Bosa has registered 20 combined tackles (16 solo, four assists), 13 quarterback hits, a league-leading 11 tackles for a loss of yardage, 7.0 quarterback sacks, one interception for 46 yards, one pass defended, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
Bosa is coming off the best game of his career in a three-sack performance against the Carolina Panthers in Week 8. It was a marquee game in the late-afternoon window and Bosa shined bright in the bigger stage. We all know about his NFL pedigree, but there is a chance Bosa could be the best NFL player of his extended family. He’s a candidate for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Next: NFL Power Rankings: 30 Best Defenders of All-Time
At some point, yes, the 49ers will hit adversity. Every team loses a few games each year unless they are truly a special bunch. The 49ers could be that, but they have nine regular-season games to write their 2019 narrative before the NFC playoffs. We know about Shanahan and his quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo, but Saleh undoubtedly has found his guy in Bosa. Look out, NFL.