The San Francisco 49ers earned a gritty, hard-fought victory on Sunday night against the Atlanta Falcons. The Niners defense stepped up in a big way despite missing a ton of key players, which reflects very well on defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and could earn him another head-coaching job this offseason.
Saleh rejoined the 49ers as defensive coordinator after a few forgettable years with the New York Jets as their head coach. He helped establish the identity of San Francisco’s defense from 2017 to 2020, so it made complete sense for him to return to try and bring the defense back to its previous heights.