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.

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.

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,

Robert Saleh has been a popular name mentioned as a potential candidate to succeed Aaron Glenn as the defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions. The former New York Jets head coach is a Detroit native who was a finalist for becoming the Lions’ head coach when the team hired Dan Campbell.

Robert Saleh and the 49ers were waiting for the former Jets head coach to be out of the mix for head coaching jobs before making his hire official.

A day after The Athletic reported that the San Francisco 49ers were about to stage a reunion with Robert Saleh, the club announced Friday that the former New York Jets head coach is returning to his old job as defensive coordinator.

The San Francisco 49ers got their man as Robert Saleh is head back to the Bay Area for a second stint as defensive coordinator.