Five coaches 49ers could target to replace Saleh if he leaves
Coach Kyle Shanahan acknowledged this week he has engaged in talks with his good friend, 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, about the likelihood Saleh will become a head coach in the offseason.Obviously, Saleh would love to take some 49ers assistant coaches with him.Just as obvious, Shanahan is not thrilled about the possibility of losing some of his assistants.If Saleh becomes a head coach, Shanahan would then have to hire someone else to fill the most important position on his staff.Shanahan will always run the 49ers' offense. He needs someone to have complete control over the defense.Here are five strong candidates to consider:
Shanahan got out of his contract with the Cleveland Browns after the 2014 season to join Dan Quinn’s staff with the Falcons. That combination came excruciatingly close to winning a Super Bowl together. But the Falcons blew a 28-3 lead in the second and fell to the New England Patriots.
Quinn is available after the Falcons fired him after five games. Quinn would enable the 49ers to maintain continuity with the same system that Saleh installed with the 49ers.
Gus Bradley chose to join Anthony Lynn’s staff with the Chargers over the 49ers in 2017. He is still on Lynn’s staff as defensive coordinator.
It remains to be seen if Chargers ownership will keep the coaching staff in place for another season.
Bradley, like Quinn, is a former Seahawks defensive coordinator under Pete Carroll. He also has head-coaching experience from his four seasons at the helm of the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2013 to ’16.
Raheem Morris is currently finishing the season as the interim coach of the Atlanta Falcons after the firing of Quinn after five games.
Shanahan and Morris go back to their time together as young coaches on Jon Gruden’s staff with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004 and ’05.
Shanahan hired Morris as Falcons wide receivers coach in 2016. That experience on the offensive side is something Shanahan considers invaluable for a defensive coach.
Morris is a respected leader. He would bring with him a more varied defense with multiple coverages.
Shanahan sought to hire Vic Fangio as his defensive coordinator on his first staff, but the Chicago Bears would not allow Fangio to get out of his contract. Fangio became head coach of the Denver Broncos in 2019.
If the Broncos do not bring back Fangio for a third season as head coach — his record is 12-17 — then it would seem to reason that Shanahan would seriously consider him again for the job.
This could be the time for the 49ers to change their defense due to the large number of free agents and the likely roster turnover they will see on that side of the ball.
DeMeco Ryans is an up-and-coming coach, for sure. He will be a defensive coordinator before too long. And he appears to have what it takes to become a head coach, too.
The only question is whether Ryans is ready to assume full defensive coordinator responsibilities at this stage of his career. His playing career ended in 2015, and his first coaching job was with the 49ers in 2017.
Saleh would almost assuredly want to take Ryans with him to wherever his next job takes him.
Ryan would seem to be a perfect fit for a defensive coordinator on Saleh’s staff — much the same way Mike LaFleur and Mike McDaniel serve under Shanahan on the 49ers’ offensive staff.
