The Niners brought back their esteemed defensive coordinator for 2025.
The San Francisco 49ers have had a relatively quiet offseason in comparison to past years. They didn’t make any major free agency moves. They extended their key players before organized team activities (OTAs). They focused heavily on the 2025 NFL Draft, selecting 11 players.
Really, the biggest move they made this offseason was bringing back Robert Saleh as their defensive coordinator. Saleh, who was fired by the New York Jets after 3.5 seasons as their head coach, had been the 49ers’ defensive coordinator from 2017-20.
During that span, he rebuilt the 49ers’ defense to become one of the NFL’s best, which earned him the head coaching job in New York. After cycling through coordinators over the past two seasons, San Francisco now has a familiar face at the helm as they seek better results on that side of the ball.
Saleh was the primary defensive playcaller in New York, leading multiple top-10 units, but wasn’t really considered among the league’s top defensive coordinators because he didn’t hold that title.
Now, back as a defensive coordinator, where does Saleh rank among his peers?
ProFootballNetwork recently ranked the top defensive coordinator in the NFL, and Saleh came in at No. 6.
“Ranking Robert Saleh this high comes with an asterisk, given that he’s returning to the defensive coordinator ranks after being fired as New York’s head coach last year. That said, he remains a top defensive mind in the NFL.
“Saleh’s Jets ranked inside the top five in Defense+ in both 2022 and 2023. Before then, his defenses with the San Francisco 49ers played a significant role in their development into an NFC superpower. Now back in his old role as their DC, expect an improvement from a 49ers defense that placed just 26th in Defense+ last year.”
At No. 6, Saleh was ranked behind Philadelphia’s Vic Fangio (No. 1), Kansas City’s Steve Spagnuolo (No. 2), Minnesota’s Brian Flores (No. 3), Denver’s Vance Joseph (No. 4), and Los Angeles’s Jesse Minter (No. 5).
Here’s the full Top 10:
1. Vic Fangio (Philadelphia)
2. Steve Spagnuolo (Kansas City)
3. Brian Flores (Minnesota)
4. Vance Joseph (Denver)
5. Jesse Minter (Los Angeles Chargers)
6. Robert Saleh (San Francisco)
7. Teryl Austin (Pittsburgh)
8. Jim Schwartz (Cleveland)
9. Todd Bowles (Tampa Bay)
10. Jeff Hafley (Green Bay)
He is the highest-ranked defensive coordinator in the NFC West, although the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks both have defensive-minded head coaches.
If Saleh is able to quickly mend the 49ers’ defense, especially against the run, with the team’s current personnel, he’ll very likely find himself back in head coach conversations over the next year or two.
He has a big opportunity with stars like Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, and Deommodore Lenoir in the fold, but development will be key for the 49ers, who pivoted off several veterans and are trusting some of their younger pieces in 2025.
Is Saleh ranked too high? Too low? Let us know your thoughts down below.