One of Kyle Shanahan's former assistants has already been fired from his coaching job, and another one could be soon. So, is a reunion in 2025 possible?
A major drawback for a successful team with a successful head coach is the fact his assistants will be plucked regularly to go fix other teams around the league.
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan knows this all too well.
Shanahan is already on his fourth defensive coordinator since taking over duties in 2017, and more than a small number of other assistants have followed suit, leaving the Niners in a near-constant position of having to patch in new faces to keep the franchise not only successful but afloat.
However, there is a world where two of those assistants might come back.
Shanahan's former defensive coordinator from 2017 through 2020, Robert Saleh, was already dismissed by the New York Jets earlier this season after a whirlwind of tumult that surrounded that particular organization, and the subsequent downfall of Gang Green post Saleh has been nothing short of an indication the failures weren't the former San Francisco coordinator's fault.
Of course, Saleh quickly joined the Green Bay Packers as a defensive consultant under their head coach, Matt LaFleur, not long thereafter. It's important to note Saleh and LaFleur are close friends, so that makes sense.
But, with the Packers showing zero signs of frustration with their own defensive coordinator, Jeff Hafley, would Saleh stay put there?
Likely not.
Then, of course, there's Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, who served in various roles under Shanahan, including a run-game coordinator and offensive coordinator before heading out to South Beach in 2022.
Amid Miami's own frustrating 6-8 record ahead of its Week 16 bout against Shanahan and the 49ers, there have been increased rumblings about McDaniel's coaching seat getting hotter as the season draws to a close.
So, at least in theory, there is a chance where Shanahan could welcome back his two coordinators in 2025.
What would stop 49ers from rehiring Robert Saleh and Mike McDaniel?
Saleh is a coaching free agent this offseason, yes. And while being fired as a head coach usually precedes a "demotion" back down to a coordinator role elsewhere, at least for the next season or two, the Jets' own dysfunction and subsequent realization that Saleh wasn't the problem bodes well for him this offseason.
Simply put, any head coach-needy team looking for someone who can get the most out of a defense should look into hiring him.
Beyond that, the Niners still have a defensive coordinator, Nick Sorensen, who despite being on something of a hot seat amid San Francisco's own woes in 2024, hasn't exactly done anything to truly warrant being dismissed after just one year.
That said, if the 49ers are seeking a coordinating upgrade on that side of the ball and Saleh winds up being available, it'd be hard for Shanahan to say no even if it meant dismissing Sorensen.
Then, of course, McDaniel is still very much employed by the Dolphins. It's hard to fathom whether or not owner Stephen Ross would want McDaniel gone after yet another season ending in disappointment, but the fact there's some smoke suggesting it's possiible leads one to believe a dismissal is at least fathomable.
Shanahan, meanwhile, has operated both with and without offensive coordinators, the only one up to this point in his head coaching tenure being McDaniel in 2021.
However, with calls aimed at Shanahan that suggest his offense has gone stale, one could see how a would-be post-Dolphins McDaniel would be an attractive re-addition to the Niners' own coaching staff.
Still, with regard to both coaches' respective availabilities and interests, more than a handful of factors and X-factors would have to play out before either/both of them would reunite with Shanahan in the Bay Area.
The more of those factors there are, the less likely such an outcome actually happens.