The Detroit Lions announced that the team has completed its head coach interview with San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.
#Lions have completed a Head Coach interview with the following candidate: pic.twitter.com/djbwQtq2JK
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) January 7, 2021
The interview was Saleh's second of the week. He met virtually with the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night, will interview with the New York Jets on Friday, and then speak with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday. The Los Angeles Chargers have also requested an interview. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated states that interview will also take place on Saturday.
49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is set to interview with the Jets tomorrow, and the Jaguars and Chargers on Saturday, per source. So by the weekend, he'll have talked with 5 of the 6 teams with openings.
Saleh has already interviewed with the Lions and Falcons.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 7, 2021
Saleh, 41, is considered by many to be the favorite to land the job in Detroit. He has spent the past four seasons in San Francisco after joining head coach Kyle Shanahan's staff in 2017.
Last month, local politicians drafted a letter to Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp campaigning for the team to hire Saleh, a Michigan native. The coach was born in Dearborn, Michigan, grew up there, and still has family in the area.
"We understand the difficulty of these upcoming decisions," read the letter authored by Rep. Abdullah Hammoud and his staff. "As passionate and loyal Lions fans, we are asking you to hire Robert Saleh as the head coach of our team. He is the best candidate for the job and measures as such across every metric. A head coach like Robert can bring tremendous energy and heart to the franchise and would help us reach peaks that have seemed unobtainable for so long. We have an exceptional opportunity here and we trust you to make the best decision.
"To turn the corner and become a winning franchise, these next hiring decisions are critical. We hope that you will consider Robert Saleh as the head coach, not only for us, but for everyone across the loyal fanbase of our beloved Detroit Lions."
The Houston Texans remain the only NFL team with a head-coaching vacancy that hasn't reportedly expressed interest in Saleh.