How Robert Saleh Benefits From 49ers Assistant Gus Bradley

One coach who played a role in Robert Saleh’s defensive acumen is Gus Bradley.

The two spent a few years together when Bradley was the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Bradley hired Saleh to be the linebackers coach.

Now, the two are reunited with the San Francisco 49ers. This time, it is Saleh who is higher up in the hierarchy as the defensive coordinator, while Bradley is an assistant head coach. The main reason Bradley is with the 49ers is because of Saleh. 

Bradley was let go from the Indianapolis Colts as their defensive coordinator, and it didn’t seem any team wanted him for that role. Luckily, Saleh was brought back to the 49ers, and he reached out to Bradley. 

For Saleh, it was a no-brainer to welcome Bradley aboard because he is a coach who Saleh will benefit from and receive excellent aid. 

“I’ve been with Gus for a long time just so much respect for him,” Saleh said. “While our philosophies are the same, I should say we look at it differently, if that makes sense. And it's kind of a good yin and yang. He sees my blind spots and I can see his. I think we just complement each other really well. But just the overall trust and working relationship that he and I have and just overall philosophy, I think he's as trustworthy as it gets.”

Bradley and Saleh also go back to their days with the Seattle Seahawks. That is where they first started to coach together. The cover-3 scheme foundation in Seattle was ran by Bradley when he was the defensive coordinator from 2009 to 2012. 

Saleh took those concepts and adapted his style to them when he joined the 49ers in 2017. Now that Saleh has a ton of experience under his belt, he has only expanded upon the foundation he learned from Bradley.

The two find themselves reunited again, only this time, Bradley will be taking orders from Saleh. Although I’m sure Saleh will be reluctant to do so with his former mentor.