The San Francisco 49ers are once again preparing to hire a new defensive coordinator, marking the fourth time in as many seasons the team will undergo a change at the position. While the 49ers would prefer continuity after their 2025 campaign, head coach Kyle Shanahan acknowledged that reality shifted when Robert Saleh accepted the head coaching job with the Tennessee Titans.
Despite the setback, the 49ers believe they are well-positioned to handle the transition. Veteran coach Gus Bradley is already on staff, serving as the team's assistant head coach and playing a major role in defensive game planning this season. Bradley is widely viewed as the most natural internal successor to Saleh.
Still, Shanahan made it clear that the 49ers will conduct a thorough search. Speaking at the team's annual end-of-season press conference on Wednesday, he confirmed the organization plans to evaluate multiple candidates—likely internally and externally.
"I'm going to say it's a real wide net, but Gus is the obvious one to everyone, and is to us, too," Shanahan said. "Gus would be the main internal candidate. I feel very fortunate to get Gus, and great about that. But also, we are going to go through the whole process.
"There's requirements we have to do and stuff that we want to do, also. So hopefully, we can get it settled sooner than later, but I see us working throughout this next week on it."
Shanahan also noted that additional staff changes could be on the horizon, as Saleh may look to bring members of the 49ers' coaching staff with him to Tennessee.
"We'll see how that goes here over the next two weeks," Shanahan said. "And I would love some continuity. I definitely don't like doing this for the [fourth] year in a row. I really would like to go on vacation, but these D coordinators keep making me have to [make] my family wait and get mad at me for it. But it is what it is."
While Shanahan expressed gratitude for Saleh's opportunity, he admitted the timing was less than ideal.
"We've had some real good coaches, and I'm very happy for Saleh and his family, that they got what they deserve," Shanahan said. "Wish it was maybe a year later because I would have loved to have Saleh for another year. Also, would have loved a draft choice, but it's part of having good people around here."
Unlike Saleh's first departure from the 49ers, the team will not receive compensatory draft picks this time, as he did not spend at least two seasons with the organization during his most recent stint.
Still, Shanahan remains confident the 49ers will land the right replacement.
"So we'll find another good one," Shanahan added. "We have a lot of good guys in our building, as we talked about already, and we'll end up figuring it out and being okay."