Jul 24, 2025; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh answers questions from reporters following the second day of training camp. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

One Thing Robert Saleh Can’t Stop Praising About 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan

Originally posted on San Francisco 49ers on SI
By Henry Cheal | Last updated Aug 22, 2025 1:00 PM ET

San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh highlights the one thing he admires most about Kyle Shanahan’s working style.

Saleh is back in the building, marking the return of a key figure who played a fundamental role in Shanahan’s early years as head coach.

Saleh always learns new things under Shanahan

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Saleh's second stint as defensive coordinator arrives after a three season stint as head coach of the New York Jets.

Instead of exploring potential head coaching roles elsewhere, he decided to come back to the 49ers.

Saleh, who collaborated with Shanahan from 2017 to 2020, continues to praise his "educational" team meetings.

“Kyle, and I’ve said it before, his team meetings are as good as anybody in football," Saleh said on Wednesday. "I’m not going to speak for anyone else. I’m just speaking for Kyle Shanahan and all the coaches that have been around. His team meetings are the most educational. If you are any kind of a person, you write down everything he says, you’re going to get better leaving his team meetings. It’s like stealing, the information he gives.

"So, if you’re a student of the game, you’re going to look for every single edge you can. So, when you’re in different areas where you can learn and apply it to multiple facets of football and all the different things that you know, it only helps.”

Saleh explains his improvement after the Jets stint

D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Saleh openly reflected on his time in New York, admitting that as a head coach, he gained a new perspective on defense.

“I felt like I was able to spend a lot more time with their offense, just trying to be a head coach and just making sure that we’re all focused on one goal to accomplish what we were trying to accomplish from a goal standpoint," he said.

"So you learn a lot of offense and you learn what they’re looking at and you start to see the windows that they see, I guess. So, it gave us the opportunity to watch defense from a different light. So, you can see what they’re trying to attack, you can see how they game plan, you can see what they’re looking for. So, it just gives you a different angle as to how to approach it from a coordinator standpoint.”

This takeaway should excite the Faithful for the new season. With several new faces on defense, Saleh has the opportunity to develop rookies into world-beaters, just like he did with veterans Fred Warner and Nick Bosa.

In Saleh's first stint in San Francisco, the 49ers' defense ranked third in passing yards allowed per game and fourth in total defense and opponent yards per play.

This article first appeared on San Francisco 49ers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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