Rams Bitter Rival 49ers Set to Hire Robert Saleh

The Los Angeles Rams just saw one of their fiercest rivals improve in a big way.

The San Francisco 49ers are officially hiring former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh as defensive coordinator, the very role he held before he took the Jets job in 2021.

Saleh finished his tenure with the New York Jets with a 20–36 (.357) regular season record and was fired in 2024 after a 2-3 start. The Jets completely collapsed following his firing, however, which bodes well for his future as a coach and as a potential retread head coach hire down the road.

Saleh was the 49ers defensive coordinator from 2017-2020 after serving as the Jacksonville Jaguars linebackers coach from 2014-2016. It is because of the Jaguars that the 49ers are actually able to land Saleh for his second stint with the team, too.

Saleh was a finalist for the Jaguars head coach job, even going as far as reaching out to potential assistants to build out his staff. He interviewed once with the Jaguars in-person and was set for a second interview on Friday, but those plans got cancelled when the Jaguars made the aggressive move to pursue Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen.

With the Jaguars bringing Coen to Jacksonville for his second interview on Thursday to become the eighth head coach in franchise history, this opened a door for Saleh to return to the 49ers.

Saleh takes over for a 49ers team that has had three defensive coordinators over the last three seasons. DeMeco Ryans left for a head coach job with the Houston Texans after the 2022 season, and the 49ers have struggled to find stability at the position in the following years.

Now, the 49ers have a defensive coordinator who has thrived in the role before and who also now comes with head coach experience. Saleh led the Jets to several high defensive rankings during his tenure as head coach and there is no doubt that he presents an upgrade to the 49ers' coaching staff over their previous defensive coordinators sans Ryans.

The NFC West just got a lot tough for the Rams and everyone else, and they can thank the Jaguars for it.