Why Saleh feels ‘indebted’ to 49ers among exciting return

SANTA CLARA — Rather than attempt to venture out and try something new, Robert Saleh wanted to repay the loyalty that was shown to him.That is why Saleh accepted the 49ers' offer to return to the organization nearly four months ago as defensive coordinator. He held that same role on Kyle Shanahan's staff from 2017 to 2020."If you think about those first two years as D-coordinator in '17 and '18, it wasn't easy," Saleh said Thursday in his first public comments after returning to the 49ers."It could have been very easy for them to move on from me. I'm indebted to this organization, to those men, for the rest of my life. They stuck with me and we made it happen."Saleh, 46, was in the mix for head-coaching jobs in the offseason. He likely could have had his pick of nearly every defensive coordinator opening. But he gave Shanahan the assurance that if he did not get a head-coaching job, he would return to the 49ers.Saleh parlayed his successes with the 49ers as defensive coordinator into the head-coaching job with the New York Jets in 2021.He was fired after the Jets began last season with a 2-3 record. The Jets' overall record was 20-36 during his tenure.The Jets could never figure...