Defensive Coordinator Robert Saleh Press Conference

Defensive Coordinator Robert Saleh

Press Conference – October 30, 2025

San Francisco 49ers

What did you like about DL Keion White and how do you envision him fitting into your rotation?

“Coming out, elite athlete. I mean, he’s got great length, size and speed. His short-area quickness, his ability to rush the passer on the inside again as another interior pass rusher, adding more depth to that. He kind of fits into that role we have, similar to [DL] Mykel [Williams] outside being able to kick inside to be more of a speedy rusher active body. So, we’re looking forward to getting him out there.”

Is there a backstory why he fell out of New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel’s rotation?

“That’s probably more of a question for them.”

The difference between Atlanta and Houston was obviously pretty stark. Is that partially a function of just having youth?

“A rollercoaster ride? (Laughter). No, and there’s stuff on my part where I look inward and I could have been a heck of a lot better for them. Like I’ve said, we’re going to continue to push the envelope with regards to scheme to find the balance of what we’re capable of so we can always play fast. Does that mean pull back or is it things that are fixable or was it things where they were overloaded? That’s where I’ve got to look inward and try to figure out what those answers are and make sure that they have just enough so teams can’t just continually take haymakers at us. But also, not too much where we can’t play as fast as possible.”

Coming out of that game Sunday, where do you start as you present your plan to the players of what went wrong and what needs to be corrected?

“It’s a fundamental League from a technique standpoint. One is always going to be communication and making sure that we’re constantly talking and communicating and being loud. I’ve always said that your confidence always projects in the volume of your voice. And if you’re out there screaming and yelling your technique and the checks and your assignments, then you’re pretty confident about what your job is. But if you’re out there quiet, you might need to get in the book a little bit more. So, I’m constantly listening to our defense. The louder it is, the more comfortable you are as a football coach. The more you feel like you probably could nudge them and give them a little bit more. The quieter you are or the defense is, that’s where you’ve got to ask yourself whether or not you’re asking them to do too much. So again, it starts with communication. Then from there, it’s your technique and fundamentals and making sure that we’re on it with regard to our jobs.”

Has New York Giants QB Jaxson Dart shown enough through these games where you maybe have to assign a linebacker or safety on him to spy him?

“He is uber talented. I understand why [New York Giants head coach Brian] Daboll went to the blue tent. I probably would’ve went too. I mean, kid’s good man (laughter). He’s a really, really, really good kid. I think New York hit on this one big time. But, he’s dynamic, he’s decisive, he’s accurate. He’s been a joy to watch just studying his tape over the last, what, five starts now? They’re doing a really good job with him. There are certain things they’re asking of him, but they’re doing a good job hiding it within their weekly game plans. I’ve always thought Daboll’s done a really good job, him and [New York Giants Assistant head coach and offensive coordinator] Kafka, they put a lot of strain on defenses. And this kid, he’s going to be special.”

What’s it going to be like for you going back there?

“Get some pizza, go to the visiting locker room and hopefully have a good day.”

CB Upton Stout plays with great effort and impacts the game in a variety of ways. In coverage, it seems like he’s getting picked on a little bit. How would you assess his progress with the first half of the season?

“He’s been good. He’s done some really, really good things. Him getting beat is not because he is not capable. It’s more him learning, him getting reps, him having an understanding of what teams will do to try to leverage them and how they try to create the stems to create negative leverage wins and routes. And then again, it’s the confidence to get lined up where you just get repetition over repetition, cleaning up his techniques, understanding what he can and can’t do. You know, like the holding penalty or the PI, whatever it was against the tight end, he is up there trying to play hard heavy press on a pretty big man. It’s just understanding what you can and can’t do versus different body types. So, it’s all learning for him. He’s got elite work ethic, elite mindset. He’s very smart. He’s got tremendous athleticism and he strains. He packs a punch. I don’t know if you guys saw this one, he came across the middle of the field on a run fit and just hit heck out of the running back. I mean, he knocks people back. I’ve got clips where he takes on pulling tackles and guards and he knocks those guys back. So, he’s a relentless player and long answer is short, kid’s going to be really good. He just needs reps.”

It seemed like in this game against Houston, it almost looked like the rush plan and the coverage plan didn’t align. There was just a lot of room there. When you watched it again, what’d you think of the coverage there?

“Yeah, I could’ve been a lot better for our guys looking back at our third-down package. I’m not going to talk about what we wanted to get done as a staff, but not proud of that one. Could have been better for our guys.”

You’ll get some injured guys back, but how would you assess where the pass rush is right now? Do you envision maybe potentially adding more beyond Keion in that group?

“It would be good to see what Keion has got. [DL Bryce] Huff will be back next week, [DL] Yetur [Gross-Matos] is back, [DL] Sam O [Okuayinonu] has been providing some production for us also. [DL] Alfred’s [Collins] been surging. [DL] Mykel’s [Williams] continuing to get better. So again, it’s a young group that’s continuing to evolve and get better. The adding part, that’s more for [president of football operations and general manager] John [Lynch] and [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] to answer, but I’ll never say no if you’re listening, John (laughter).

You expect to get Yetur back this week?

“Hopefully. He’s trending in the right direction. So we’ll continue, and from a coaching standpoint, we’ve got to do a great job just trying to find one-on-ones for those guys, where we can work half a man and we half leverage. Like I’ve said before, the ultimate goal of a coach, obviously is always a free runner, but the next best thing is a one-on-one with proper leverage. So, we’re going to do our best to put them in those leverages and see where it goes from there.”

You’re about halfway through the season. Are Mykel Williams and Alfred Collins about where they would be at this point?

“Yeah, for sure. You know, they’re rookies. In this building, we’ve been spoiled with some rookies like [DL Nick] Bosa where he’s probably more the exception, not the rule. The learning curve, especially for a guy like Mykel who we’re asking to go outside, inside, or Alfred who missed all of OTAs and training camp, they’re trending exactly the way we’ve hoped. I haven’t wavered with my thought that these guys are going to be really good football players and they’re going to be here for a while. Same with [DL] C.J. West.”

Are you dissatisfied at all with LB Nick Martin? I mean, he was your third-round pick, he’s a rookie, but he’s not getting on the field over guys like LB Luke Gifford and LB Curtis Robinson. Is there some dissatisfaction with him or is there something he’s not doing?

“No, there’s no dissatisfaction. There is a bit of a learning curve in terms of where he’s come from in college to what we’re asking him to do. I think he’s done a really nice job. He’s got to earn it on special teams with [LB] Dee Winters being the starter. Gif is a big-time special teams guy. Curtis Robinson’s a big-time special teams guy. Now you’ve got [LB] Tatum [Bethune] and Dee who are both starters. So, for him, he has had to make his way. Then obviously, [LB] Fred [Warner] was there before Fred’s injury. It’s hard to justify if you’re not the starter and you’re not owning special teams. Those guys are always going to get first dibs. And Gif, not to speak for [special teams coordinator] Brant [Boyer], but he’s been one of our top special teams guys. You’ve got to find a role and you’ve got to make it work with who the active guys are. Now that he’s got a chance to be active, he had his first run on special teams, thought he did a really nice job and he’s going to get another run at it. Unless Dee gets hurt, God forbid that that happens because Dee’s having a hell of a season, he’s going to have to make his way on special teams this year. And if something happens to Dee, then he’ll step in and we’ll see where see how it goes.”

You’ve been so patient with the other rookies, letting them take their lumps and play. And it’s been the opposite of that with Nick Martin. Is that just a function of you being a former linebacker coach and having high standards with that position? Is it a different nature of that position?

“No, that’s fair. I think it’s more a testament to Dee Winters. He’s having a hell of a year. There are a couple things that I’m sure he’d want back, but he does so many things that don’t show on the stat sheet. With regards to his play, demeanor and communication, he’s been vital for Tatum over these first couple of weeks. Just the communication with him. Dee is an NFL starting linebacker. Nick is more of a victim of that than he is of what he’s capable of.”

For the batch of rookies that were forced into some early playing time, how did you help them along, maybe encourage them throughout this process as they’re all figuring out, making mistakes and trying to learn from it?

“You’ve just got to do your best to teach. You can get frustrated with some mistakes because you want them to be great or perfect all the time. But, it never goes that way. But, they have gotten better. The cool thing about this group is that it is very important to them. They are studying their butts off. They are seeking guidance from the other guys in the locker room. Like I said, they’re getting a heck of a lot better, you look at a guy like Alfred from where he was to where he is now. Upton’s gotten better. They’re all taking strides. I don’t think they need so much encouragement. I’ve always felt like a coach needs to make these young men feel like they can walk on water and it’s our job to make sure we always put them in position and show ultimate faith, especially in a world of negativity. When these young men walk in this building, they’ve got to believe that we have faith in them, and we do. I mean, shoot, we picked them and we believe in all of them. So, you’ve just got to be patient. You’ve got to work with them and if they’re made of the right stuff and they’re going about it the right way every single day, then you trust that they’ll figure it out.”

Does it make it easier for them that they have each other? There’s a lot of them.

“It does. I guess so, but I think it helps more that you’ve got veterans in this building on the D-Line like [DL] Kalia Davis and [DL] Jordan [Elliott]. Shoot even Sam O, so you’ve got great veterans there. You’ve got veterans in the linebacker room, you’ve got veterans in the DB room to help guide along all these kids.”