The San Francisco 49ers are losing defensive coordinator Robert Saleh for the second time this decade, as he's now departing for the Tennessee Titans as their new head coach after his previous 2021 departure to the New York Jets for the same role.
As was the case in 2021, the Niners had an heir apparent in place, now-Houston Texans head coach Demeco Ryans, who admirably filled the void for two years before his own departure.
So, understandably, head coach Kyle Shanahan has been down this path before and likely knew it'd happen again sooner than later, given how Saleh was still a sought-after name on the coaching market despite his less-than-desirable outcome in the Big Apple.
The likeliest of outcomes this go-around? Hiring from within.
And that'd point directly to assistant head coach Gus Bradley, whom Shanahan brought in last offseason to work under Saleh in an apparent pipeline to replace him, should the need arise.
It did, and now San Francisco is poised to simply promote Bradley into Saleh's former role.
Except it's not quite that simple.
Gus Bradley isn't the automatic 49ers' 1st choice for defensive coordinator
True, naming Bradley as Saleh's successor makes a lot of sense. After all, Saleh worked under Bradley with the Seattle Seahawks back when the current iteration of the 49ers defense was being developed and implemented.
So, from that vantage point, there'd be almost nothing to change, schematically. And Bradley has the advantage of a year's time with the Niners' current players. A smooth in-house transition would, in theory, make plenty of sense, and there are already reports suggesting that's the direction Shanahan and Co. are leaning.
At the same time, however, simply handing Bradley the job might not be as direct as originally thought.
For starters, Bradley was brought into the fray long before Shanahan knew two potential good-get coordinators would be available, Jim Schwartz of the Cleveland Browns, as well as former Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris. Schwartz, too, operates the similar Wide 9 base defensive front San Francisco currently has, and defensive line coach Kris Kocurek used to serve under Schwartz back with the Detroit Lions.
Additionally, there's a valid argument Bradley's stock has fallen considerably since his Seattle days, experiencing several firings as a defensive coordinator.
Indeed, Bradley was and remains a great contingency plan, should other (and potentially better) options not be available for the 49ers.
But that shouldn't prevent them from seeking out the best possible candidate.