49ers Announce Bill Walsh NFL Diversity Coaching Fellows

The San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan today announced the team’s 2021 Bill Walsh NFL Diversity Coaching Fellows – Tully Banta-Cain, Orlando Franklin and Ahmed Saleh.

Banta-Cain will work with the 49ers defensive line as he is entering his second season as defensive coordinator at St. Monica (Santa Monica, CA) High School. Banta-Cain was selected by the New England Patriots in the seventh round (239th overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft. Throughout his eight-year playing career with New England (2003-06, 2009-10) and San Francisco (2007-08), he appeared in 113 games (31 starts) and registered 197 tackles, 27.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one interception. He also saw action in 12 postseason contests (three starts) and added 15 tackles, 2.0 sacks, one fumble recovery and one interception. He began his coaching career as the defensive line coach at Cana Prep Football Academy’s St. Catherines for three years (2014-16). He later served as the linebackers coach at Moses Brown (Providence, RI) School. A former defensive lineman at the University of California, Banta-Cain earned his bachelor’s degree in America Studies from the school in 2020.

Franklin, who will work with the 49ers offensive, appeared in 90 games (89 starts) along the offensive line after being selected by the Denver Broncos in the second round (46th overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft. He also made seven career postseason starts. Following his playing career, Franklin attended a broadcast bootcamp at Bowling Green State University in 2018 and currently works as a radio host on 104.3 The Fan in Denver, CO.

Saleh will work with the 49ers defensive backs as he is entering his first season as the defensive backs coach/special teams coordinator at Madonna University. He also has coaching stops as a defensive graduate assistant at Colorado State University and as a defensive student assistant at Michigan State University and the University of Pittsburgh. Saleh received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Michigan State in 2016 and his master’s degree in business administration from Central Michigan in 2019.