The San Francisco 49ers had a disappointing, if not entirely unexpected, beginning to the offseason as defensive coordinator Robert Saleh departed to take the head coach job for the Tennessee Titans. The Niners now need to guard against Saleh poaching some of their assistant coaches.
San Francisco reportedly gave Saleh permission to hire assistant coach Greg Scruggs to his staff in Tennessee, but that situation is a bit muddled now. Still, it wouldn't be a surprise if Saleh hired some guys from San Francisco's staff, given he worked closely with them in 2025.
There has been speculation that Saleh could try and snatch K.J. Wright from the Niners as well.
49ers beat reporter Matt Barrows of The Athletic writes of Wright, "Officially, he was a defensive quality control coach with the 49ers this past season. But he worked very closely with the linebackers and drew praise from Saleh for getting incoming linebackers — of which there were many in 2025— ready to play. Maybe Saleh will hire Wright as his linebackers coach."
This is speculation on the part of Barrows, but obviously he is plugged into the team and has a sense of which way the ball could roll.
The Niners should be proactive and start promoting some staff members who could be lured away by Saleh so they are more likely to stay with San Francisco.
Wright seems like a good guy to keep in the building as he has a similar profile to former 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans who is now the head coach of the Houston Texans.
Like Ryans, Wright played linebacker for years in the NFL, and both made the Pro Bowl. After retirement, both got their first NFL coaching jobs with the 49ers.
Ryans worked his way up quick as he started as a defensive quality control coach and was promoted to defensive coordinator after Saleh left to become the head coach of the New York Jets.
Wright was hired as an assistant linebackers coach in 2024 but had his title changed to defensive quality control coach.
The Niners should make sure they can keep Wright around as he could be a nice internal option for defensive coordinator someday. Gus Bradley seems like a likely replacement for Saleh, but if Bradley does good at the job and earns another head coaching opportunity elsewhere, or if he doesn't pan out, Wright could be a strong option to replace him. Maybe making Wright an assistant defensive coordinator or making him more involved with the defense as a whole could be a nice promotion to make sure he stays.
The Niners have one of the best linebackers in the game in Fred Warner, so it would make sense to have a solid former linebacker like Wright who sees the game in a similar way and knows what it takes to play that position.
Saleh will inevitably take a few guys with him to the Titans, but the 49ers should make a concerted effort to retain promising talent on the coaching staff, which is why they should promote Wright so he cannot be poached.