How much pressure will 49ers’ Robert Saleh be under in 2019?

After two less-than-desirable years with the San Francisco 49ers, defensive coordinator Robert Saleh faces some changes in 2019. How much pressure will he be under?

If the San Francisco 49ers go through yet another sub-.500 season and their defense winds up being problematic yet again, defensive coordinator Robert Saleh likely winds up on the hot seat.

He probably is already. After all, Saleh’s defense the last two seasons has been less than stellar.

And there are a few stats to back up the claim.

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/1/2019.

Granted, Saleh’s defense did have some upsides last season. This unit was good at stopping the run, allowing an average of just 4.1 yards per carry — seventh best in the NFL — and the 5,546 yards allowed actually ranked 13th best, which is somewhat strange considering the Niners allowed a fifth-worst 435 points last year.

But another stat feeds that number: the lack of turnovers.

It does fall on player performance, yes. Yet Saleh’s group managed a mere seven turnovers, including two interceptions, which set a new NFL-record low in a non-strike-shortened season.

Those aren’t the kind of results desired from a defense said to be all about “all gas, no brakes.”

Saleh implemented the 4-3 Under, Cover 3 defense he learned as an assistant with the Seattle Seahawks and Jacksonville Jaguars. Those defenses worked with those respective teams, yet both the defensively stout Seahawks and Jaguars had the caliber of players to make the scheme work.

The 49ers, meanwhile, are still trying to piece that kind of roster together.

Yet Saleh didn’t adjust the scheme much the last two years to make up for the lack of talent, which is partially responsible for the lowly defensive output the last two seasons.

As a result, you see two notable changes entering 2019. For starters, the Niners reinvigorated the pass rush by adding edge rushers Dee Ford and Nick Bosa through a trade and the NFL Draft, respectively. Being stronger up front should add to the lowly 37 sacks San Francisco had last season, thereby taking pressure off a beleaguered secondary.

Additionally, the hiring of defensive line coach Kris Kocurek altered Saleh’s defensive philosophy.

The 49ers are switching to a wide-9 base, which pushes the strong-side linebacker into a stack position and allows the strong safety to back well off from the line of scrimmage. In a sense, the new look will be a much more traditional one.

As Niner Noise’s Chris Wilson pointed out, the scheme change didn’t appear to be the decision of Saleh, rather something placed upon him after the previous two years didn’t generate the desired results.

Granted, San Francisco retaining Saleh for 2019 was the right move. Like head coach Kyle Shanahan, Saleh is still learning on the job and arguably going through the growing pains of being a first-time, relatively new coordinator.

But if things stay sour this season, it’s likely the 49ers will have to make some serious defensive changes.