Trent Baalke may spoil 49ers' plans to reunite with Robert Saleh

Trent Baalke might have another chance to burn his former employer if the Jaguars ultimately grab Robert Saleh as their head coach.

There's plenty of evidence suggesting the San Francisco 49ers' No. 1 choice for their defensive coordinator vacancy is ousted New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh.

Saleh, of course, helmed the Niners defense under head coach Kyle Shanahan from 2017 through 2020, a tenure that helped him land his job with Gang Green in 2021.

Now, with Saleh freely available, it's not hard to see why Shanahan would want a reunion in the wake of San Francisco dismissing Nick Sorensen from the coordinator role.

Saleh would likely accept the reduced role, provided no other head-coaching opportunities pan out to his desired expectations.

However, there's one glaring threat to the 49ers potentially luring Saleh back to their ranks.

And he happens to be a familiar name to Niners fans.

Trent Baalke could convince Jaguars to hire Robert Saleh, denying 49ers in the process

The Jacksonville Jaguars are on the hunt for a new head coach, too, following their decision to part ways with Doug Pederson at the end of the regular season.

While Pederson's ousting wasn't a surprise, the Jags' decision to retain general manager Trent Baalke was something of a shocker, and it reportedly convinced some potential coaching candidates to rebuke the vacancy.

Saleh, not surprisingly, is interviewing with Jacksonville for the head-coaching opening despite knowing Baalke's history (including his tenure in the Bay Area) of clashing with head coaches.

According to The Athletic's Zack Blatt, there's a growing buzz that Saleh could be the Jaguars' preferred candidate:

Additional rumors hint that Saleh was Jags owner Shad Khan's preferred choice for a bigger role back in 2016 when Saleh was the team's linebackers coach, yet Jacksonville ultimately opted for Doug Marrone as head coach, leading to Saleh moving coasts and joining Shanahan in San Francisco.

That might carry weight, too, especially if Baalke is of the understanding he could "stick it" to the 49ers one more time by denying them a top coordinator candidate.

Of course, Saleh would recognize the ploy while also acknowledging the need to work with Baalke, which could easily be a deterrent if he understands the tumult that has frequently surrounded head coaches in Northern Florida.

That said, Saleh has made it clear he'd prefer a head-coaching job over a return to a coordinator role.

And Baalke might opt to take full advantage of that, especially if it shuns the Niners.

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