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Who the 49ers should hire to replace Robert Saleh

Originally posted on San Francisco 49ers on SI
By Grant Cohn | Last updated Jan 20, 2026 12:46 AM ET

The 49ers just lost the architect of their defense.

Robert Saleh has agreed to terms with the Tennessee Titans to become their next head coach, according to reports. This comes two days after the 49ers lost 41-6 to the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round of the playoffs.

When the 49ers hired Saleh this offseason, they knew he most likely would be one-and-done as their defensive coordinator. That's why they also hired Gus Bradley as their assistant head coach.

Bradley is Saleh's mentor, and those two run the same scheme. In addition, the 49ers' players have gotten to know and like Bradley, so it would be easy to promote him to defensive coordinator. Plus, Saleh can't bring Bradley with him to Tennessee because Bradley is the 49ers' defensive coordinator. Technically, becoming the Titans' defensive coordinator would be a step down for Bradley.

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So, sure, the 49ers could simply replace Saleh with Bradley, change nothing on defense and hope for the best.

But in the past six years, Bradley has been fired by the Chargers, the Raiders and the Colts. He's not as good as he used to be. He would be a significant step down from Saleh.

The 49ers should not hand the job to Bradley simply because he already is on the staff. That would be the easy, convenient move to make.

Instead, the 49ers should interview lots of candidates, including Jim Schwartz, who was the Cleveland Browns' defensive coordinator under head coach Kevin Stefanski, who recently got fired.

Like Bradley and Saleh, Schwartz runs the Wide 9. In fact, he has been running it for much longer than those two. And he has a connection to the 49ers. Their defensive line coach, Kris Kocurek, used to coach under Schwartz in Detroit.

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The 49ers should want the best man for the job. They shouldn't just cede to someone in the building because it's convenient. That's what the Eagles did when they promoted Kevin Patullo to offensive coordinator last year. And that's what the 49ers did when they promoted Nick Sorensen to defensive coordinator two years ago.

The 49ers are coming off an impressive season in which they won a playoff game. The future should be bright. But, if they don't find a suitable replacement for Saleh, they'll struggle next season, because their defense is young and in need of quality coaching, and their offense is old and unwilling to evolve.

The 49ers better get this hire right.

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

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