SF 49ers: 4 assistant coaches who could be gone in 2021

The SF 49ers could easily lose defensive coordinator Robert Saleh to a head-coaching job in 2021, yet these other assistants could leave, too.

There’s an awfully good chance SF 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan’s coaching staff looks noticeably different in 2021.

Chief among the names who could potentially depart this offseason is defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who was already a rising name among potential head-coaching candidates last season after the Niners put forth one of the league’s most potent defenses in 2019. Yet this year, despite a plethora of injuries to key defensive playmakers, Saleh could arguably have put together a masterpiece of a season, his unit still ranked No. 5 in the league in terms of total yards allowed.

Only the Cleveland Browns interviewed Saleh for a head-coaching gig last offseason, the position eventually going to former Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski.

But with a number of vacancies already opened for 2021, paired with Saleh’s name already having risen in the ranks the last year-plus, there’s a better-than-good chance San Francisco will be looking at a new defensive coordinator next season.

If so, Saleh could purge some assistants from the SF 49ers’ current staff, and a new league rule will already prevent teams from blocking interviews with assistants for would-be promotional roles, making it harder for Shanahan to retain his staff.

Including Saleh, here are four assistant coaches who could be elsewhere in 2021.

No. 4: SF 49ers Defensive Coordinator Robert Saleh

The first on the list is the most obvious, Saleh.

While offensive-minded coaches have been the recent NFL trend, Saleh likely breaks that mold because of his recent rise and exemplary handling of a banged-up Niners defense in 2020.

If there’s one opening likely favored for Saleh, it’s with the Detroit Lions, who fired head coach Matt Patricia earlier this offseason. And while Saleh would be overseeing what could be a massive and elongated rebuild in Detroit, his association with San Francisco’s own rebuild starting in 2017 would help build his credit.

Plus, Saleh is originally from nearby Dearborn, Michigan. His family is in the area, and one would have to figure the Lions’ opening would be Saleh’s first choice, too.

There’s some solace for the SF 49ers, should Saleh leave to be a head coach elsewhere.

Another rule rewards teams for developing minority assistants who become head coaches on other teams. Should this happen, the Niners would receive two compensatory third-round NFL Draft picks, one in 2021 and another in 2022.

So it wouldn’t be all bad.