The San Francisco 49ers won a combined 10 games between 2017 and 2018, the first two seasons under head coach Kyle Shanahan and his defensive coordinator, Robert Saleh.
Saleh, a first-time coordinator in 2017, implemented his Seattle Seahawks-like 4-3 Under, Cover 3 scheme, and the initial results weren’t particularly impressive. His first year, the Niners defense ranked 25th in scoring and then 28th in 2018. Last year, San Francisco set a record low for teams in a non-strike-shortened year in the modern era with just seven defensive takeaways.
Needless to say, calls for firing Saleh rose in 2018.