Robert Saleh cannot personally create turnovers, rush the passer or stop the run. His return as the 49ers’ D-coordinator is no guarantee of success.

Saleh was fired midway through this past season in New York, but the Jets had a strong defense under his tenure.

The San Francisco 49ers got their man as Robert Saleh is head back to the Bay Area for a second stint as defensive coordinator.

Saleh takes over for a 49ers team that has had three defensive coordinators over the last three seasons. DeMeco Ryans left for a head coach job with the Houston Texans after the 2022 season, and the 49ers have struggled to find stability at the position in the following years.

Saleh was fired as the Jets’ coach five games into this season and is now back with the 49ers, where he made his name in the NFL.

Robert Saleh, who ran the Niners' defense from 2017 to 2020, is heading back to San Francisco for the same role after a three-plus-year stint as Jets coach.

Dearborn native, and former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh is returning to San Francisco as the defensive coordinator, a job he previously held from 2017-2020, a stint that included a trip to the Super Bowl.