The Jets fired Saleh in the middle of the season, naming Jeff Ulbrich as the interim head coach. While they interviewed Ulbrich for the big job, they chose to go a different route, naming former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn as their new head coach.

The San Francisco 49ers and head coach Kyle Shanahan today announced that Robert Saleh has been named as the team’s defensive coordinator.

Saleh, who was fired in October as the New York Jets head coach five games into his fourth season, generated interest on the head-coaching front and was seen as one of the frontrunners for the Jacksonville Jaguars job. He also interviewed with the Las Vegas Raiders and Dallas Cowboys.

Later on Thursday, then-Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen had a change of heart, the Jacksonville Jaguars quickly moved to hire him as head coach and Saleh, who told Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch that he’d return to the 49ers if he didn’t get a head-coaching job, stayed true to his promise.

The 49ers already nailed the first step to bouncing back next season by hiring Robert Saleh to rebuild the defense.

Saleh was fired by the Jets after a 2–3 start to the '24 season, and a 20–36 record overall that was mired by the team's failure to stabilize the quarterback position. Former

Robert Saleh, who was fired by the Jets during the season, was hired by the 49ers for second stint as the team’s defensive coordinator on Friday night.

Robert Saleh, who coordinated the Niners' defense from 2017-20, is heading back to San Francisco for the same role following a three-plus-year stint as Jets head coach, a source told ESPN.

Robert Saleh is returning to the 49ers. The ex-Jets coach will be the defensive coordinator for San Francisco again.

A day after The Athletic reported that the San Francisco 49ers were about to stage a reunion with Robert Saleh, the club announced Friday that the former New York Jets head coach is returning to his old job as defensive coordinator.

After an exhaustive 16-day search, the San Francisco 49ers have finally settled on their next defensive coordinator. And just as head coach Kyle Shanahan desired, that job now belong to Robert Saleh.