Assessing the Redskins coaching options: 49ers DC Robert Saleh
About Robert Saleh’s career, coaching resume
Saleh played collegiately at Northern Michigan and was a four-year starter at tight end. But he never played in the NFL.
After his collegiate career finished, Saleh went to work as a defensive assistant at Michgan State. He spent two years there before serving in the same role at Central Michigan and Georgia. After that in 2005, the NFL came calling for the then-26-year-old Saleh.
Saleh joined Dom Capers’ coaching staff with the Houston Texans and served as a defensive intern. After Capers was fired in 2006, Saleh stayed on the staff as a defensive quality control coach and got to learn from the likes of Gary Kubiak. In 2009, Saleh would be promoted to the assistant linebackers coach for two seasons.
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Then, he moved onto Seattle. And that’s where his rise really began.
With the Seahawks, Saleh learned from Pete Carroll and Gus Bradley for three seasons as the Seahawks created the “Legion of Boom”, drafted Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright, and appeared to be building a defensive-based dynasty. Saleh got to witness firsthand what a great defense could do for a team and in the case of the Seahawks, it carried them to a title (along with the performance of Russell Wilson). But their defense’s demolition of Peyton Manning in Super Bowl 48 was the stuff of legend.
Saleh would eventually follow Gus Bradley to the Jacksonville Jaguars and there, he served as a linebackers coach. He helped to develop Telvin Smith into a star at the NFL level and also coached up some of the lesser-known veterans that Bradley brought into the fold. After three years in Jacksonville, Saleh got the call to join Kyle Shanahan as the defensive coordinator on with the 49ers. And there, he has been terrific.
The 49ers defense has improved each year under Saleh. And in 2019, they have peaked. They ranked second in the league in yards allowed and eighth in points allowed entering Week 17. This is despite playing in a tough division that features perennial playoff contenders like the Seahawks and the Los Angeles Rams, last year’s NFC representative in the Super Bowl.
Beyond that, Saleh has developed Fred Warner into a very good linebacker for the 49ers. And his work with the defensive line has been flawless. He has allowed Nick Bosa to enjoy an excellent rookie season while Arik Armstead has also made strides in three seasons under his watch. And Saleh has shown a knack for incorporating little-known players into the defense and finding success. Undrafted rookie Emmanuel Moseley had to serve as the 49ers’ No. 2 corner at times this season but thanks in part to Saleh, he held up pretty well.
The last three years are really the best part of Saleh’s resume. But having learned under a couple of Super Bowl-winning coaches in Carroll and Kubiak is a good selling point too. With his resume explored, the next important question is about how he fits with the Redskins.