San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is drawing significant interest in the NFL head coaching market. Still, he insists his attention remains squarely on Sunday's NFC Wild Card matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.
So far, three teams—the Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, and Atlanta Falcons—have requested interviews with Saleh for their head coaching vacancies. While that development has sparked concern among some 49ers fans, Saleh made it clear on Thursday that the interview process is not a distraction during this playoff week.
"The league has done a really nice job with structuring the interview process to allow people to focus on the job at hand, so I haven't thought about any of it," Saleh told reporters. "I know things come in, but that's not something I have to deal with until next week, so I'm completely focused on Philly."
Saleh is in the first year of his second stint with the 49ers after being rehired last offseason. He previously served as San Francisco's defensive coordinator from 2017 through 2020 before being hired as the head coach of the New York Jets, a position he held from 2021 to 2024.
While the 49ers' defense finished the regular season ranked 20th in total yards allowed and 13th in points allowed, the unit endured significant adversity. San Francisco lost multiple key contributors to injury, including All-Pros Fred Warner and Nick Bosa, yet still finished 12-5, just one win shy of securing the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.