The Philadelphia Eagles have requested to interview San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh for their vacant head coaching job, according to a report from Adam Schefter of ESPN:
Saleh would likely already be a head coach, if not for a coaching search a year ago that worked against him. He was a hot name, but because the 49ers went to the Super Bowl, and because there were only three head coaching openings, he had to wait a year.
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Saleh has been around the league a bit, as he has had jobs with four NFL teams, and three colleges:
• Michigan State (2002–2003): Defensive assistant
• Central Michigan (2004): Defensive assistant
• Georgia (2005): Defensive assistant
• Houston Texans (2005): Defensive intern
• Houston Texans (2006–2008): Defensive quality control coach
• Houston Texans (2009–2010): Assistant linebackers coach
• Seattle Seahawks (2011–2013): Defensive quality control coach
• Jacksonville Jaguars (2014–2016): Linebackers coach
• San Francisco 49ers (2017–present): Defensive coordinator
Here are the Niners' defensive rankings in the four years Saleh has been their defensive coordinator:
| Year | Points | Yards | Takeaways | DVOA |
| 2017 | 25 | 24 | 20 | 26 |
| 2018 | 28 | 13 | 32 | 24 |
| 2019 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| 2020 | 17 | 5 | 21 | 6 |
The Niners' defense was outstanding in 2019, and Saleh kept that unit playing at a high level (sixth in DVOA) in 2020 despite suffering an abnormal number of injuries at all three levels of the defense.
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Saleh is known for his demonstrative emotion on the sidelines during games, something his players seem to respond to:
If the Eagles were to hire Saleh, that would come as something of a surprise, given Jeffrey Lurie's strong leanings toward offensive-minded head coaches, though it is believed that Saleh could bring a Kyle Shanahan understudy with him wherever he lands:
Next up: Arthur Smith.
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