If the San Francisco 49ers' 20-10 Week 7 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night Football is any indication, defensive coordinator Robert Saleh will again be a head coach before too long.
It's understandable why Saleh's defense surrendered a season-high 30 points in the previous week's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After all, the Niners lost All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner to a season-ending ankle injury during the game, which is a gut punch few teams would ever overcome.
But Warner's injury was one of several setbacks and shortages Saleh had to deal with. Beyond defensive end Nick Bosa being out for the year with an ACL tear, San Francisco had to mitigate other shortages on that side of the ball, including defensive backs Renardo Green and Upton Stout dealing with injuries.
The results, however, were incredible.
Saleh held a legitimate Offensive Player of the Year candidate, running back Bijan Robinson, in check to the tune of 40 yards and 2.9 yards per carry, while quarterback Michael Penix Jr. was under duress for much of the night.
Saleh can thank seldom-discussed defenders like cornerback Chase Lucas and linebacker Tatum Bethune for helping with that.
Yet Saleh's efforts go beyond the basic stats, revealing his ability to adjust in a post-Warner and post-Bosa campaign.
Robert Saleh was in his bag during 49ers' win over Falcons
Despite Bosa's absence and the defense struggling to generate sacks, the 49ers entered Sunday night as one of the least-blitzing teams in the league, hovering just above the least-blitzing defense of the Seattle Seahawks.
While Saleh generated a slight uptick in manufactured pressure in the weeks since Bosa's injury, it hasn't been a major factor.
At least not until Penix was put under sure pressure, including a blitz out of the slot by Lucas that resulted in a timely hurried throw and incompletion.
The Niners managed 15 pressures on Penix of his 43 dropbacks, many of which came via the blitz.
Arguably of more importance, though, was the critical 4th-and-1 pass breakup Lucas managed to seal Atlanta's fate. As the veteran defensive back described, Saleh was instrumental in identifying what Falcons wide receiver Drake London would do in that formation, leading to Lucas nearly coming away with the interception:
Chase Lucas knew what play was coming on his HUGE 4th & 1 PBU due to the tape Robert Saleh and Daniel Bullocks showed earlier in the week and gave all the credit to them.
— KNBR (@KNBR) October 20, 2025
"When I see [Drake London] motion over I'm like 'oh wow they're really about to run this on 4th & 1. I'm… pic.twitter.com/r41TzlO99r
While Lucas would have preferred the INT, his efforts nevertheless reveal why coaching matters, and Saleh provided plenty of that, too.
Even the NBC Sports broadcast noticed Saleh's efforts, as color analyst Cris Collinsworth described the Niners as a clump of "clay," with which the coordinator was molding a fine sculpture.
Hard to deny that.