© Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
The 2021 offseason is already defined by turnover. Currently there are seven head coaching vacancies and at least six general manager vacancies. 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is very likely to get one of those posts. The 41-year-old put together a top-10 defense without Nick Bosa, Richard Sherman, DeForest Buckner, Dee Ford, Solomon Thomas, Ronald Blair III and Ezekiel Ansah for the majority of the year, with countless other injuries.
Those head coaching vacancies are as follows:
Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans, New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, Philadelphia Eagles
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Saleh’s latest interview is with the Jets, who flew him into New Jersey for a second, and in-person interview on Tuesday morning. And according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Eagles, having just fired longtime head coach Doug Pederson, will also interview Saleh.
Early on, right at the conclusion of the season, Saleh had already secured interviews with the Falcons, Lions and Chargers. His former haunt in Jacksonville, where he was linebackers coach from 2014-16, quickly followed suit.
If you’re doing the math, that leaves one very dysfunctional franchise, with one very unhappy franchise quarterback as the only team yet to schedule an interview with Saleh: the Houston Texans.
According to ESPN, quarterback Deshaun Watson was told he’d be apprised of the hirings for general manager and head coach, reportedly requesting the team interview Chiefs assistant Eric Bienemy. CEO Cal McNair, who is the son of now-deceased former owner Bob McNair, who infamously said of players protesting during the national anthem, “We can’t have the inmates running the prison.”
Good luck, Houston. Seems like it’s all under control.