Saleh, who was fired in October as the New York Jets head coach five games into his fourth season, generated interest on the head-coaching front and was seen as one of the frontrunners for the Jacksonville Jaguars job. He also interviewed with the Las Vegas Raiders and Dallas Cowboys.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Robert Saleh is reprising his role as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator, the team announced Friday night. Saleh returns to a vastly different unit than he left behind four years ago.

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is welcoming 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh back to the same role, per NFL Media. Saleh served as Shanahan's original 49ers defensive coordinator for four seasons from 2017 to 2020,

Saleh was fired midway through this past season in New York, but the Jets had a strong defense under his tenure.

Later on Thursday, then-Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen had a change of heart, the Jacksonville Jaguars quickly moved to hire him as head coach and Saleh, who told Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch that he’d return to the 49ers if he didn’t get a head-coaching job, stayed true to his promise.

Robert Saleh, who ran the Niners' defense from 2017 to 2020, is heading back to San Francisco for the same role after a three-plus-year stint as Jets coach.

The San Francisco 49ers have brought back Robert Saleh to once again be the team’s defensive coordinator, according to multiple reports. This news, as first reported by Mike Silver of the Athletic, comes amid a bit of a farce surrounding the Jacksonville Jaguars’ hunt for a new head coach.

Robert Saleh’s encore as 49ers defensive coordinator took on more likelihood as the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Las Vegas Raiders hired others to fill their head coach vacancies.

Saleh had interviewed for three head coaching positions but had committed to head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch that, should be not get another head coaching job, he would return to San Francisco as defensive coordinator,

Following his dismissal as head coach of the New York Jets, Robert Saleh has wasted no time finding his next opportunity in the NFL. The former Jets leader has returned to the San Francisco 49ers, where he previously thrived as defensive coordinator.