Defensive Coordinator Robert Saleh Press Conference

Defensive Coordinator Robert Saleh

Press Conference – October 23, 2025

San Francisco 49ers

As far as your Thursday practices, a couple of your players said after the game that they thought that that outing was going to happen because the Thursday practice was so good and intense. Did you sense that from the Thursday practice? And with the 49ers Thursday practice in general, is that more intense than other places you’ve been? How did you run your Thursday practice in in New York?

“We were similar. I will say, last Thursday was a very physical practice. It was probably a little more than what we normally would be, even for here. I thought the guys got after it and I thought today’s Thursday practice was really good. I don’t want to speak for the entire League, but usually Thursday’s workday. You put your pads on, you hone in on all the details that you installed on Wednesday, lock in your third-down game plan, but usually League-wide Thursday is your big workday.”

What struck you about Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans in 2017 when you got here and he was a quality control guy?

“Well, first I was there when we drafted DeMeco. He’s just different. You could tell he was different from the get. He was Defensive Rookie of the Year. I remember we initially had him at WILL linebacker and then something happened during OTAs, he slid in the MIKE and that was the last of it for him. The rest is history. But, incredible mind. What makes him special to me is that he has an incredible amount of humility in terms of he knows he doesn’t have the answers, he’s willing to ask the right questions and he is incredibly smart and will learn. He can evolve, he can adapt, he’s a great communicator and people gravitate towards him. He’s an elite human, elite father, elite man. He’s all of it. We knew that from when we drafted him and obviously he stayed true to himself as he’s gotten bigger and bigger.”

You only allowed 10 points in your first game without LB Fred Warner. How did you pull that off?

“Good players (laughter). These young men, I know it’s a young group, but they’re all excited. I thought [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] did a great job with messaging last week and it’s a tremendous opportunity for everyone. We talked about it on here. Before Fred was [former 49ers LB] Patrick Willis and [former 49ers LB] NaVorro Bowman. Before them was, shoot, [former NFL LB] Ken Norton Jr. and all those other great linebackers. It’s [LB] Tatum’s [Bethune] opportunity. Before [LB] Dee Winters was [Denver Broncos LB] Dre Greenlaw, so there’s always an opportunity for somebody to step into the shoes that have been there for a while. I thought our guys did a great job taking advantage of their opportunities on Sunday night.”

DB Deommodore Lenoir wasn’t out at practice yesterday and he was to the side of the practice field today. If he’s not able to go on Sunday, how do you fill that void?

“Yeah, if he can’t go, obviously those would be big shoes to fill, but no different than everybody else. It’d be a great opportunity for somebody else to step into those shoes and play well. Thought [CB Darrell] Luter [Jr.] did a great job last week stepping in for [CB] Renardo [Green] when he was knocked out of the game. This League is about opportunity. Like I said, you have your superstars, right? The ones who are, they’re just different. You do have the [DL Nick] Bosas of the world and guys that transcend coaching, if you will. There’s nothing you can say to those guys. They’re just special. But, then from there, the rest of the League to me is A to Z and it’s separated by a gap that’s about that big. They’re all special athletes. They all have abilities that are out of this world and some of them just need an opportunity. That’s the only thing separating A from Z is an opportunity. So, if someone gets an opportunity, you hope they take advantage of it.”

You mentioned Luter. Between him, CB Chase Lucas and Dmo, particularly in the run game the other night, how did you think that they impacted the game and the way they were physical?

“All of them did. You can throw [S Jason] Pinnock in that too because there was a lot of big nickel that we played in that game. [LB Luke] Gifford came in and played, we played base, so we kept mixing up the personnel for them with regards to their run groupings. I thought everybody did a really nice job being gap disciplined. I thought the D-Line really got after it and just got to go do it again.”

That dynamic that you talked about when people get their opportunity, those guys have seemed to excel here. Is there a climate here that might be different than other places that allows them to continue to study and then when they’re needed they go and perform?

“Yeah. A couple things. One, and I do think it always starts at the top, and then you talk about Kyle and his messaging and [president of football operations and general manager] John [Lynch] and the type of player that we bring in year-in and year-out, they’re made of the right stuff. But, the other part to this is continuity. These systems have been in place for, how many years has he been here now? Eight, nine? Yeah. For nine years. So, there are veterans teaching young guys, so there’s an acceleration in terms of development and it gives these young guys a chance to move along faster than it would be if you’re trying to install a whole new program every two or three years. I think that’s one of the forgotten arts of football. I mean, it’s the ultimate team game and developing these young men, developing coaches and developing players is a huge part of it. It’s kind of been thrown off to the side for the sake of change, you know? I would say it starts at the top. Continuity, Kyle’s messaging, all of it gives our guys a really good chance to excel when they do get their opportunity.”

What is your assessment of Houston’s offense after Monday night? When you have a team that’s objectively struggling a little bit, as a coach, how do you guard against the ‘oh, hey, we got this?’

“I get the narrative for Houston, but this is also the same team that dropped 40 on Baltimore and they had 26 on Tennessee in a shutout. So, this is a damn good football team. Going up to Seattle on a Monday night, that is hard to do. They were right there. I thought their defense stood on its head and gave themselves a chance to win. They had the ball inside the five-yard line. They had opportunities to win that or to at least tie or win the game. But, it’s a damn good football team in all three phases. We all know that it’s going to be a tremendous challenge trying to get down there and get another win.”

When you talk to Tatum Bethune, it’s clear that football’s really important to him. I know you probably go to the Combine and talk to those guys in those rooms. How do you discern which guys football’s important to as opposed to just good at it?

“Yeah, that’s the one big question. You want guys who love the game and everything about it. There’s a difference between a player who loves the game and everything that it brings versus a guy who likes what football gives him. There’s a big difference. When you’re going through the evaluation process, trying to find the guys who genuinely love ball, whether it gives them money, fame, they don’t care, they just want to play the game. Trying to separate those guys from the guys who like what football gives them, the fame, the notoriety, all that stuff, those guys don’t last. It’s the ones who truly love the game and the process that goes with it. The studying, practice, rehab, lifting, all of it. It can get tricky, but if you dig enough, you can find it.”

Is LB Nick Martin getting any reps at strong side or is he just weak side?

“The WILL and SAM are very similar, but he’s mostly WLL linebacker.”

Guys like S Malik Mustapha, Dee Winters and Tatum Bethune have said they congregate together throughout the week outside of the facility to study more film on top of what they’ve done here. What does that say to you?

“They love the game. [Former University of Alabama Head Coach] Nick Saban, I don’t want to sit here and mess up what he quoted, but he has a cool piece that goes around social media that talks about how people who love ball gravitate to people who love ball. You can’t have mediocre people mixing with elite minds. It just doesn’t work. Usually that happens, they’re going to gravitate towards one another. If you love the game of football, you’re going to gravitate to one another, and if you don’t, you’re going to gravitate to your click. Those guys love the game of football and everything that comes with it. So, it’s not surprising to hear that they try to find each other to study more tape.”

When you left here to go to New York, how aware were you that DeMeco was going to be next in line? Did you have any peace of mind knowing that the 49ers were in good hands if DeMeco was taking the job?

“It was a no brainer for Kyle. That was the setup from day one. Like I said, DeMeco, he ascended so fast. Obviously, he played the game, but to go from QC to linebackers coach to coordinator, he was ready to be a coordinator after his first year of being a linebacker’s coach. Like I said, he’s got a fantastic mind. He’s a quick learner and he’s got the confidence to be able to adjust. He did. He made it his own in his years as a coordinator. So, he took what he learned, he made it his own and they played fantastic football, earned a spot, rebuilt it in Houston and they’re doing it again. So, he has proven that he understood the blueprint. It wasn’t like he just took over a car and he started driving it around. He made that thing better and he went and built a new one again. But yeah, he’s a fantastic coach. Everyone in this building at least knew that it was going to be good when he took over.”

You didn’t try to bring him with you?

“Kyle would’ve killed me (laughter).”

What stands out for you about Chase Lucas?

“Football savvy, energy giver. He sees all the nuance in football, every little detail. He studies his butt off. He’s the ultimate energy giver. He’s giving juice to everybody. He’s talking smack with everybody. He’s helping out [CB] Upton [Stout] as much as he can to help him accelerate. A young man who loves the game of football and everything that goes with it. A guy that when he seizes his opportunity he’s taking advantage of it. The guy’s out there, he plays corner, he plays nickel, he plays safety. It would be a disservice to try to explain how valuable he is. He’s invaluable to this football team. He’s awesome.”

With regards to Tatum, he’s certainly seemed very confident going into the game the other night. But, now that he’s past that first game as the guy stepping in for Fred Warner, have you seen him settle even more and become even more comfortable?

“He can’t be comfortable, which he knows. He’s got to go do it again. It’s kind of the message. We did it once, that’s great. You can’t take a deep breath. You’ve got to step on the gas and keep doing it over and over and over again. This League is a proving ground week-in and week-out. As much as they love you this week, everyone can hate you next week. That’s just the world we live in. We embrace it, we love it. But for Tatum, he doesn’t have time to breathe. He’s got to keep going.”

Even with what you’ve been able to accomplish with this group, some fans have already started kind of preparing themselves mentally for your next head coaching opportunity. Obviously, you were able to interview for a few this past offseason. Presumably, you’ll be in line for another sooner rather than later. Is that still your end game in this? Do you want to be a head coach again?

“End game is trying to find a win on Sunday. We’ll go from there.”