The Cleveland Browns announced that San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is interviewing for their vacant head coaching job today. He is the fourth candidate interviewed for the position in the past three days.
We're set to interview San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh today for our head coach opening.
📰 » https://t.co/x1uKshqQEc pic.twitter.com/cQKBfeW1ex
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) January 4, 2020
Other candidates who have already interviewed are former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman, and Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.
The Browns also plan to interview Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll, New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, and Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski.
The interview with Saleh is taking place in the Santa Clara area. The 49ers had two practices to close out the week but have the weekend off thanks to the team earning the top seed in the NFC and a first-round bye in the playoffs.
"It's actually a perfect situation for Saleh, just like it was for me (when interviewing for the 49ers job in 2017), just because I was fortunate to have the bye week, also," head coach Kyle Shanahan said this past week. "We're going to get a couple of days off at the end of this week, and that's the only thing that stinks for Saleh because he won't get those days off because he'll be preparing for an interview on one day and then probably doing the interview the next day."
Saleh, 40, is the only defensive candidate currently set to be interviewed by Cleveland. The defensive coordinator is in his 15th NFL season and third season with San Francisco. He helped transform the 49ers defense into the No. 2 ranked (points allowed) unit in the NFL.