Defensive Coordinator Robert Saleh Press Conference

Defensive Coordinator Robert Saleh

Press Conference – November 21, 2025

San Francisco 49ers

With the big nickel in Arizona, how do you kind of decide when you want to go big nickel versus base versus regular nickel?

“Every game’s different. Depends on what they’re doing out of certain personnel groups and what we feel the game will be like. So, it’s week-to-week from a game plan standpoint and that can shift once we’re in the game.”

What do you like about having S Jason Pinnock?

“He’s versatile. J.P. can play multiple spots. He’s good at man coverage. He’s a really good blitzer. He is good in zone coverages. He’s a physical player, so he’s really good in that regard.”

How do you feel LB Nick Martin did in his first action out there?

“I thought he did good. I think it was like 14 snaps, had a lot of production, had the one play that I’m sure he wishes he had back also. But for a first time out, I thought it was pretty good.”

Is he only practicing at weak side or also strong side linebacker?

“No, he’s been doing it playing SAM. Well, once you get out of training camp, you’re playing everything. So, he does everything except for the MIKE.”

How hard is it to switch MIKE’s mid game? How do you feel LB Curtis Robinson did?

“I thought he did a really nice job. Curtis got reps throughout the week, but it is, it’s like a quarterback in the league. Your second-string quarterback’s not getting a lot of reps. It goes to the MIKE linebacker or to the starter. And then you got to go into the game and as much as you prepare yourself mentally, the speed of it is kind of faster, you’re making the calls, you’re making the checks, and then you got to worry about the ball getting snapped. So I thought for the circumstances, especially with how he went down and he was dealing with some aches and pains, I thought he did a really nice job.”

What was the film session like on Monday? The three takeaways obviously dwarf everything else, but there was the completions and the yardage, which nobody really likes to see, but it’s not nearly as important as getting the turnovers.

“I thought for two and a half quarters. Shoot, it was, 35-10 with about 12 minutes left in the game. And I know their last three drives accounted for a little over 200 yards and two touchdowns. So we called the game that was necessary to win the football game. Not to make excuses for our guys, but we were down to three defensive ends, we were down linebackers, we were down people. So, it was to keep the ball in front, get the clock to zero as fast as we could.”

Two weeks ago, you guys blitzed Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford like 55%, it was like the most in a decade, and then this last week you only put like 12%. Was that because you didn’t like the way you guys played the week before or why the two distinctive plans?

“It’s all part of feel. We called man or man pressure six times in the game and last week we gave up four explosives. Then you get later in the game, and like I said, for a quarter and a half we were sitting back and just trying to get the clock to zero as quickly as we could with the score being what it was. But every game will be independent. We’ve had games where we blitzed and had a lot of success. We’ve had games where we blitzed and had no success and vice versa. So like I said, we have a plan and then it’s our job to figure out how to pivot once we’re inside the game.”

What have you seen from Carolina Panthers QB Bryce Young so far? Obviously, he’s coming off the best game he’s ever had, but just overall to look at him you don’t look at him as being maybe a prototype number one at 5’10 and the size and everything, but it seemed like everybody was pretty convinced he was worth a number one and he’s looking like it now. What do you see?

“Yeah, I see a young man who’s developed and has grown year after year. I think [Carolina Panthers head coach Dave] Canales and his staff have done an outstanding job developing them. I think the organization has done a great job building the roster the right way. And you look at a guy like Bryce, they do a great job putting him in position to be successful. But for him, he’s also a really, really good processer. What’s underrated about him? I do think he’s as tough as nails. He takes some shots standing back there sometimes, but he’ll stand in there, he delivers strikes. He’s definitely an ascending quarterback.”

What are your realistic expectations for your pass rush given the players you’ve lost along the way?

“The expectation is no different, no matter who’s out there, it’s to step on the gas and give us everything you’ve got. And I know [Arizona Cardinals QB] Jacoby [Brissett] was getting rid of the ball pretty good last week. And again, it was easy. They were taking a lot of things underneath which we were giving them. But yeah, our expectation doesn’t change. We expect to win our one-on-ones. We expect to take advantage of our opportunities. We expect to be relentless, violent, and play with elite strain and effort and that’s the expectation. And if you can do that, we feel like we’ll have a good result.”

This team has good tight ends as well, three of them, and they use them differently. What do you see from their usage of tight ends? What do you think of those three players?

“Good players. They do a really nice job of mixing up their personnels. Obviously, they’re mostly 11 personnel, but they will throw 13 personnel out there. They’ll work some 12 personnel. But it’s a good trio of tight ends. I know the rookie is getting a lot of attention, but they’ve got some weapons. Their back is really good. So, it’s a really young group and a group that’s ascending, but we’ve got to be prepared for anything that they throw at us with regard to those three tight ends and the different personnel groupings that they can give us.”

Last year’s season opener RB Christian McCaffery was a surprise scratch about 90 minutes before you guys played the 49ers. Can you share with us your kind of reaction, how the team reacted to that news? Did you know that that was a possibility? No Christian McCaffery would seem to be good news for the New York Jets defense.

“Looking back at it, I kind of wish he played because [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] would’ve thrown the ball more. But instead, he pounded it for 41 times. We kind of had an idea. We were prepared either way. We had our game plan and I thought our staff, [former New York Jets defensive coordinator/current Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator] Jeff Ulbrich and the staff, we did a really nice job pivoting, credit to Kyle. He stuck with the run game. He ran the heck out of it. And I thought they did a really nice job getting into third and manageable, but credit to [Minnesota Vikings RB Jordan] JP Mason. If people didn’t know who he was, I would like to think that that game kind of woke people up. He’s a hell of a back. And he played a heck of a game. Whenever a star player like Christian is ruled out, yeah, it changes only because of what he’s capable of, both in the run game and pass game. Different if it’s just the back who’s first and second down, he might be a hell of a back, but it really doesn’t change how the coordinator’s going to call the game. Where Christian clearly changed the way Kyle was going to call the game. Sometimes you almost wish that they do play so you have your game plan and you can go attack it and you know exactly what you’re going to get. But whenever you lose a star like San Francisco did, then the variables become more.”

When you were in Seattle, maybe you guys were too young to even think this, but did you look at Canales and say, ‘I can be a head coach’, or were you just trying to make your way at that point?

“Canales, first off, is an outstanding human. I don’t know if you’ve ever had a chance to interact with him, but he’s outstanding, him and his family are fantastic. And we were both QCs. Obviously he was on the offensive side of the ball just trying to find our way. And he’s always been a team-first servant, never looking for his next job, never looking for opportunities. And I think he’s one of those guys that when the opportunity showed up, he took it. He’s made the most out of every opportunity he’s ever gotten. And he’s a heck of a football coach. And you can see it in the way this team has developed. I give him and [Carolina Panthers president of football operations/general manager] Dan Morgan a lot of credit. This organization was in the dumps not so long ago, and they’re slowly climbing out and they’re building it the right way. And it’s pretty cool to see.”

CB Upton Stout forced a fumble at the one. You had DL Alfred Collins do that at the one, DL Nick Bosa had a strip sack inside the ten in the season opener. What does that tell you about your guys’ ability to defend down there on the goal line and go for the ball?

“There’s an old saying, it’s a blade of grass. Just give us a blade of grass and we’ll do our best to defend it. And I think our guys they represent what this organization preaches. It’s elite strain all the way through the whistle. And Alfred’s play was unbelievable. Bosa’s was unbelievable. Even Upton’s at the very last second, his technique through the down wasn’t perfect, but he fought all the way through. And it’s what we talk about when we talk about the makeup of the people in that locker room and the way Kyle and [president of football operations/general manager] John [Lynch] go through the process to select these young men and who gets to wear a San Francisco 49ers helmet. They’re made of the right stuff. And those are the individuals who will strain all the way through no matter what the situation is, no matter what the down and distance is, no matter what the score is or where it’s at in the game. We’ve got a locker room full of individuals that are going to do everything they can to win every down.”