The 49ers appear set on reuniting with Robert Saleh, but locking in on him as a coordinator could potentially do more harm than good.
Essentially gifting former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh his old defensive coordinator role back with the San Francisco 49ers might not necessarily be a good idea.
Rumors and reports suggest the Niners have already made him an offer. And the ousted Jets head coach is open to returning under head coach Kyle Shanahan where he spent 2017 through 2020 in the same stead.
However, Saleh is also a big-name head-coaching candidate, too, interviewing with a number of teams with vacancies, including the Jacksonville Jaguars and Las Vegas Raiders.
Tack on the Dallas Cowboys now, too, after they couldn't agree on an extension for head coach Mike McCarthy.
Whether or not San Francisco would be wise to go back to Saleh and his style of defense is debatable. Perhaps it'd be better for the 49ers to get fresh ideas from beyond Shanahan's coaching tree.
However, there is another potential problem with the Niners honing almost exclusively in on Saleh as their coordinator.
And it involves simply waiting too long.
49ers waiting on Robert Saleh could be disastrous
A year ago, San Francisco opted to part ways with then-defensive coordinator Steve Wilks in the immediate aftermath of the Super Bowl, weeks after many would-be available coaches and assistants already landed new gigs.
That led to Shanahan going with an internal candidate, Nick Sorensen, who was clearly in over his head in the role despite being on the staff for years prior.
The 49ers will want an experienced coordinator this go-around, and Saleh would check that box.
However, what if Saleh ultimately decides to rebuff the Niners' offer in favor of his preferred role, a head coach, somewhere else? It's not only reasonable, but also likely (if offered).
The longer San Francisco waits on Saleh's decision, the thinner the pool of qualified coordinators gets, which increases the likelihood of hiring a less-than-desirable candidate, as was the case with Sorensen a year ago. Perhaps it'd be wiser to expand the search to include other defensive-minded candidates, such as Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich or former New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen.
Shanahan has no doubt weighed this, but the lack of other coordinator interviews beyond Saleh, Detroit Lions assistant Deshea Townsend and the 49ers' own Brandon Staley still suggests the preferred route is a reunion with Saleh.
If he takes another job elsewhere, Shanahan and the Niners may be left scrambling once more like they did a year ago.
And that didn't work out particularly well.