Robert Saleh cannot personally create turnovers, rush the passer or stop the run. His return as the 49ers’ D-coordinator is no guarantee of success.

The San Francisco 49ers have seven confirmed selections in the 2025 NFL Draft with the potential for additional compensatory picks to follow.

When Saleh left the 49ers for the Jets after the 2020 season, the 49ers knew linebackers coach DeMeco Ryans was going to step into that role and he did so with rousing success. He wound up only working as the 49ers’ DC for two years before landing the head coaching job with the Houston Texans.

The 49ers snagged a third-round comp pick in the 2025 draft when DeMeco Ryans and Ran Carthon were both hired in the same offseason. Ryans went to the Houston Texans as their head coach. Carthon went to the Tennessee Titans as their general manager.

Tough decisions will have to be made by the San Francisco 49ers when free agency arrives. There are plenty of players they would like to have back but can't due

The 49ers have brought back Robert Saleh, fired as Jets head coach this season, in the defensive coordinator role he held for San Francisco from 2017-2021.

The San Francisco 49ers are bringing back Robert Saleh for a second stint as defensive coordinator after a failed tenure as head coach of the New York Jets, a person familiar with the choice told The Associated Press.

Robert Saleh, who was fired by the Jets during the season, was hired by the 49ers for second stint as the team’s defensive coordinator on Friday night.

Saleh takes over for a 49ers team that has had three defensive coordinators over the last three seasons. DeMeco Ryans left for a head coach job with the Houston Texans after the 2022 season, and the 49ers have struggled to find stability at the position in the following years.

The New York Jets have hired Steve Wilks as the team’s new defensive coordinator, according to ESPN. Wilks, who served in the same role at the San Francisco 49ers in 2023, replaces Jeff Ulbrich, who was the Jets defensive coordinator from 2021 to 2024.

Steve Wilks, who ran the Niners' defense in 2023 and was head coach of the Cardinals in 2018, has agreed to become the Jets' defensive coordinator, sources told ESPN.