Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has expressed confidence that his defense coordinator, Robert Saleh, will do well in any job interview with head coach. Saleh interviewed the Detroit Lions on Thursday, a job for which many people consider him the favorite. One NFL insider suggests that the specific interview might not have gone as well as Shanahan would have expected or Saleh would have hoped.
“Saleh did not do very well in the Detroit interview, I said. And it’s not an attempt to get the job done,” Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle said during a radio interview with Adam Clanton and Adam Wexler of SportsTalk 790 (via Detroit Sports Nation, h / t to Patrick Tulini).
There is much to interpret from the statement. Did the interview not go well, because Saleh does not necessarily fit in with what the Lions’ brain trust is looking for or envisioning for their club? Or did Saleh conduct poor interviews, which to some seem less likely.
However, there is a conflicting report stating that the interview went well.
“According to a well-placed source, the Detroit Lions interview with 49ers defense coordinator Robert Saleh went ‘great’. However, the Lions have yet to make an offer,” said Jeff Lesson of 97.1 The Ticket (again via Detroit Sports Nation) said.
A Lions beat writer for the Detroit Free Press, Dave Birkett, also stated that the Lions’ interview with Saleh was not as awful as Wilson suggests.
Many of you are asking this morning about Robert Saleh. The feedback I received was that his interview with the Lions went well, and that they liked his presentation and potential staff.
– Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) 9 January 2021
Saleh has so far participated in three interviews. He also interviewed the Atlanta Falcons and the New York Jets on Monday. The coach will speak to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday. The only team with vacancies that did not reach 49ers over Saleh is the Houston Texans.
Meanwhile, head coach Kyle Shanahan expects to be completely without Saleh.
“I was very pleased with what he did all year,” Shanahan said after the 49ers’ Week 17 defeat to the Seattle Seahawks. “I would be very surprised if we did not lose him. I do not know what is wrong with people if they do not hire him. I mean, he is as good as you can get, and he knows more about football, all three phases, and he’s going to hire the best staff, he knows about players, he knows what they’re talking about, who doesn’t know what they’re talking about, and he also knows how to deal with people. ‘
John Lynch, general manager of the San Francisco 49ers, confirmed Monday that three teams have officially requested an interview with defense coordinator Robert Saleh. They are the Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars. While the first two were already known, the last was not. However, the Jaguars’ interest is not unexpected. Saleh will be a big name because NFL teams with vacancies for head coaches want to fill these roles. Albert Iller of Sports Illustrated reported that Saleh would interview the Lions on Thursday. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said earlier that his
The Detroit Lions have announced that the team has completed its head coach interview with San Francisco 49ers defense coordinator Robert Saleh. #Lions completed a head coach interview with the following candidate: pic.twitter.com/djbwQtq2JK— Detroit Lions (@Lions) January 7
Robert Saleh’s maintenance guard has been officially launched. According to Kyle Shanahan, the head coach, the San Francisco 49ers’ defense coordinator is scheduled to virtually interview the Atlanta Falcons on Monday. Per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated will interview Saleh Thursday with the Detroit Lions. The Lions plan to interview the Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy, Darrell Bevell, the interim coach, today and the 49ers DC Robert Saleh on Thursday for their HC post.