Obvious landing spot for Robert Saleh just became available
You'd be hard-pressed to find a more disappointing team in the 2024 NFL season than the San Francisco 49ers. They entered the year as clear-cut favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl for a second consecutive season, but wound up going 6-11 and finishing in last place in the NFC West. They ended their season on a four-game losing streak.
A lot went wrong for San Francisco this season. It all started with Brandon Aiyuk's unnecessary contract drama. Then, injuries completely overtook the Niners. More drama ensued shortly thereafter. Their season ended with their defense looking as lost as any in the league.
Because of the team's defensive woes, the Niners opted to relieve Nick Sorensen of his duties as defensive coordinator, according to Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. Sorensen might be back in some capacity, but he won't be the leader of the team's defense. If we're being honest, that comes as little surprise.
Nick Sorensen will not return as 49ers defensive coordinator, a league source said. The hope is that the 49ers can retain him on Kyle Shanahan’s staff. There are a few attractive options for the 49ers to now consider for the D.C. role.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) January 8, 2025
This Niners defense allowed just 17.5 points per game in 2023, the third-fewest in the NFL. Despite that, the team fired Steve Wilks. Under Sorensen, the Niners allowed 25.6 points per game, tying them with the 4-13 Jacksonville Jaguars and the 3-14 Cleveland Browns for fourth-most. The Niners allowed 35 or more points in five of their last seven games. They allowed 40+ points in each of their last two contests. It was bad. Firing Wilks after he led an elite defense while allowing Sorensen to stick around an extra year would've made no sense.
The Niners' defensive coordinator vacancy opens the door to a very logical reunion. Why shouldn't they bring Robert Saleh back to take that job?
A Robert Saleh 49ers reunion never felt so obvious
Whether the Niners should've fired Sorensen or not can be debated. Yes, the defense struggled, especially to finish out the season, but there are a couple of things to consider. First, injuries completely ravaged the defense. Nick Bosa missed three games. Charvarious Ward missed five games. Talanoah Hufanga missed more than half of the season. Dre Greenlaw played in just two games. The list goes on and on.
Second, this was Sorensen's first season as a defensive coordinator. No, it didn't go well, but there were bound to be some growing pains for a first-timer. If the Niners weren't going to have any patience with him in that regard, why hire him in that role to begin with?
Niners fans will forget all about this decision if the organization can find a way to reunite with Saleh.
Saleh's head coaching tenure with the New York Jets was one to forget, but his defensive track record cannot be ignored. By the time he left San Francisco, they had one of the best defenses in the NFL. Even while he wasn't winning games with the Jets, their defense was nothing short of elite for most of his time there, and it completely fell apart once he was fired.
A question worth asking for now is, would Saleh even want this job? He's set to interview with the Jacksonville Jaguars for their head coach vacancy. If that, or another head coaching gig is offered to him, he'll presumably prefer that over being a defensive coordinator. If that fails, though, the Niners should pursue him based on all he's done, and considering Saleh's familiarity with the organization, he should be open to a reunion as well.
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