© Mark J. Rebilas | 2021 Jan 3
Robert Saleh is likely to go, but where he ends up could have a significant impact on the 49ers’ offseason.
Saleh reportedly has interviews with four of the six teams that have head coaching vacancies: the Chargers, Lions, Falcons and Jaguars.
It’s that last one the 49ers should be wary of according to 49ers’ beat writer Matt Barrows of The Athletic.
“To me that would be the worst case scenario for the 49ers, if Saleh wound up in Jacksonville,” Barrows said on Papa & Lund on Tuesday. “That’s a team with the most salary cap space of any team. Saleh would bring with him Mike LaFleur, the other Shanahan lieutenant. So all the sudden you’ve got a defensive coach, and an offensive coach that are looking for (the 49ers’) types of guys with scads of salary cap space. The Jaguars in that scenario would be far the 49ers’ biggest competition for guys like (Kyle) Jusczyk and everyone who is a free agent on this roster.”
The Jaguars will enter the 2021 offseason with over $77 million in salary cap space. For reference, the 49ers have a little over $16 million, while also having 27 players hitting the open market.
The good news? Barrows doesn’t believe Saleh is a top candidate in Jacksonville.
“I do think that Detroit is probably the best spot for him. I don’t think Atlanta would be a great spot because they just got rid of a defensive coach, Dan Quinn, who has ties to the Seattle system and that’s what Robert Saleh is.”
Listen to the full interview below.