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Former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh has a contract offer from the San Francisco 49ers to become the NFL’s highest-paid defensive coordinator, per The Athletic’s Matt Barrows.
That news was reported Friday on the latest edition of The TK Show with Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard (3:30 mark).
“I think it’s become obvious now that it’s Saleh or bust really, because they haven’t done much work with anybody else to this point,” Barrows said.
“And I’ve already heard that they’ve told Saleh, you know, ‘We will make you the highest-paid defensive coordinator in all the land if you sign with us.’ And now it’s just a matter of waiting for Saleh.”
Barrows noted that Saleh is getting “all sorts of head coaching attention,” though, so it’s certainly possible he could reject that opportunity if he gets a head coaching offer.
Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic reported that there’s “real buzz” Saleh lands the Jacksonville Jaguars’ head coaching job. Saleh interviewed with the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The Dallas Cowboys plan to interview Saleh on Monday, per Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports.
So there’s plenty of buzz connecting Saleh to three of the six open NFL head coaching jobs out there. However, there’s plenty of competition for Saleh at all three of those gigs.
In Dallas, Pro Football Hall of Famer, ex-Cowboys star and current Colorado head coach Deion Sanders could be the pick. NFL insider Ed Werder reported Thursday that he was told Sanders “would almost certainly accept” the position, presuming Cowboys owner Jerry Jones offers it.
In Jacksonville and Las Vegas, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, widely considered one of the top (if not the top) head coaching candidates, could be a pick.
Jeremy Fowler @JFowlerESPN
To echo @AdamSchefter point, I hear these words when I ask about Ben Johnson process: Open mind. My sense is he’s keeping one as it relates to Vegas, Chicago, Jacksonville. https://t.co/7eEhGPJW4k
The Raiders have also been linked with Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen, Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken, per ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez.
So Saleh could be finding himself out of a head coaching job in this cycle. However, it’s clear he’d have a home back in San Francisco, where he was the defensive coordinator from 2017-2020 before joining the Jets in 2021.
Barrows reiterated, too, that the 49ers have made a “strong” and “top-of-the-market” offer to Saleh, so it doesn’t appear that he’ll be out of a job for long.
