Kyle Shanahan: Gus Bradley is the obvious candidate to take over as defensive coordinator

The 49ers need a new defensive coordinator with Robert Saleh moving on to become the Titans' head coach and they may not be bringing someone in from outside the organization. Assistant head coach Gus Bradley was the Colts' defensive coordinator before joining Kyle Shanahan's staff in 2025 and he's held the same role for several other clubs as well. That's led to speculation that he will take over Saleh's spot and Shanahan was asked about that prospect during a Wednesday press conference. "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. We feel fortunate to get Gus and great about that. 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."The obvious choice often winds up being the final one, so it won't come as a shock if the 49ers' search ends with Bradley running the defense.