Defensive Coordinator Robert Saleh Press Conference

Defensive Coordinator Robert Saleh

Press Conference – August 5, 2025

San Francisco 49ers

With the young defensive lineman in camp, I know there’s a lot of details in learning the system. How much more detail is it than people realize as far as the young guys and their adjustment to this level?

“There’s a lot, especially in the run game. Especially when you’re dealing with an offense like ours where they’ve got every run, I think in the history of football. So, there’s different blocking combinations, different fields, trap blocks, wham blocks, outside zone, inside zone, and duo double teams. There are so many different types of schemes that they run, and if you’re not on it, you can just get washed out of the place. The great thing about playing our offense is we get a great opportunity to see all these different blocking combinations and we have a chance to work them.”

DL C.J. West was saying there’s no redshirt year and that we understand that we have to come in and be able to produce pretty quickly. How do you as a coach find that line between, I know they’re going to make mistakes, but we got to get them ready as quick as possible?

“You just hit it. I think of all the major sports, the NFL relies on rookies more than any of them. You come in and it’s like throw your kiddo in the water and just go swim, right? So those rookies, they’re going to make mistakes. The hope is that they’re smart enough I guess you could say, or they can acclimate well enough where they don’t make the same mistake twice, if that makes sense. But you throw them in. That’s why I set the expectation way back in OTAs. The expectation for these rookies is that they show great growth and get better every day. That’s the expectation. They’re going to have splash plays in between. They’re going to have hair pulling moments, but as long as they’re focused, you feel like they’re intent day-to-day is good, they’re taking care of their bodies, and they’re studying and preparing every day like a professional, you trust that they’ll grow and get better every day.”

There was a deep-ball pass today from QB Brock Purdy to RB Christian McCaffrey and LB Dee Winters was running with him stride for stride, and the ball fell incomplete. How is Dee at that facet of the game in pass coverage?

“His coverage ability is as good as anybody. You trust him in those situations. Normally with a guy like Christian on the field, you’re not going to want to be in a call that puts it back one-on-one. But we gave him the opportunity, and he won. With every passing day, he builds more trust that he can do that. The more he shows that he can, it just creates openings for everybody else, especially from a blitz standpoint where we can send extra people in at their protection knowing that we have guys all over the place that can handle the different athletes that the league has to offer.”

“Robert, can you talk generally about the rookies showing great growth and getting better every day? Is there anybody currently that kind of epitomizes that to you?

“Knock on wood, we love this rookie class. They’re all attacking every moment. [LB] Fred [Warner] spoke pretty candidly about [CB] Upton Stout. He’s doing a hell of a job. [DL] Alfred’s [Collins] been getting better every day, getting his legs underneath him, showing some really good progress in the run game. C.J.’s been showing good stuff in the run game. [DL] Mykel [Williams] obviously, it’s hard to see in there, but his past rush on the inside’s been fantastic. Even, [S Marques] Sigle at safety is coming along really strong and doing a really nice job. So just overall as a group, they’re getting better. They’re competing, going against a really precise offense. Our offense has been rolling out for eight years, so the precision at which they operate is pretty damn good. So, they’re getting all they can handle as rookies. It’s as hard as it’s going get for them, going against our offense and all the different things they do, but they’re showing that it’s not too big for them.”

What does Mykel do that makes him an effective interior rusher?

“He’s got great feet. He’s kind of awkward because he’s long, he’s tall. He’s not a traditional three technique. So, he’s got great foot speed, strength, power, and length. He’s shifty. He can get outside his frame. It’s different for guards to go against a guy like him. He’s so good with his hands. He’s so good with his feet. He plays with great pad level, he’s got power. So, he’s a three-way player. He can run around you, he can run through you, he can counter, he’s showing all of it off. He still has a long way to go. He’s going to be a good football player in this league. It may not come this year, but you could see it through practice that this kid, once he gets it, it’s going to be special.”

Robert, you said knock on wood. As you know, the odds are all these defensive rookies are not all going to be NFL starters. It could, right? Are you kind of like, geez, this is going well? You’re joking about not wanting to jinx it, but are you just pleasantly surprised because the future really is unknown?

“It is. I joke with [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] that, shoot, if you hit 50% of your draft picks in a year, that’s a hell of a draft class. I think that’s why we’re all excited for Denver to come in. Sometimes you get into a routine where you’re recognizing the same bodies, same players, same stems, same formations, so the encouraging thing is that they can learn when they see the same thing over and over again. The challenge now is going to be a completely new opponent with no preparation because we’re not preparing for Denver. We’re just lining up. Just throwing it on the field and seeing how they play. So, we’re really excited to see how it goes and fully expecting some lumps along the way. But one thing is for certain, I do think that their competitive drive is going to be there.”

What do you like about DL Bradlee Anae? He was really good at Utah, he killed it in the UFL, and I know you two crossed over at the Jets.

“Bradlee, he came to us at the Jets from Dallas as a practice squad guy which gave us an opportunity to work with him. We were all really excited to work with him. We thought that he had a legit chance to make a really good roster and be in the d-line room in New York. He tore his ACL during OTAs which set him back. I’m proud of him, he found his way. He had a really successful season. So, he’s here and he’s a good player. I’m not going to say who I compare him to, but he’s a very smart, effective player. He’s got great versatility, so it’s a great opportunity for him. I hope he takes advantage of this.”

When you go through the holes that you have to fill in that defense. Is Upton kind of one of those ones that you’re almost sure he will have a starting spot?

“No. To piggyback off Kyle, you could probably say he has the inside track in a very long race, and we still have three preseason games. He’s still got to show that he can do what he’s been doing against different competition. Still got to show he can tackle. So, there’s still a lot of things that he has to show. Same with all these rookies. You can say he’s got the inside track, but like I said, we’re in a marathon, and we haven’t completed the first leg yet.”

Robert, when you took this job, there were guys under contract that are no longer here. What did Kyle or whoever, outline to you? For example, you’re going to have a different defense.

“We knew what we were getting into <laugh>. But that’s the exciting part, to go do it again. You know, we’re going to do it again.”

There were also a lot of rookies on the roster in 2017. What are the similarities and differences between the two experiences?

“It is different. The similarity is a bunch of people learning a whole new system. There’s a possibility that there might be eight new starters on defense. The difference being a lot of them are rookies you still had [S] Jimmie Ward, [S Jaquiski] Tartt, [CB] K’Waun Williams, some veteran presence along with the D-line. You had Buck [DeForrest Buckner], [DL Arik] Armstead, and the linebacker room. I think we brought in a whole bunch of new people after our first year. But the challenge is the same in the sense that there’s a lot of new people here too. You got [S Jason] Pinnock is new, [S] Richie Grant, [CB Siran] Neal, and [CB] Tre Brown. There are a bunch of new players here too. It’s a really cool mixture of veterans along with a bunch of young guys who are kind of injecting a lot of renewed youth into the vets. They’re out there making plays, it’s exciting. They’ve got great intent, all of them. They’ve got great football character where they’re constantly fighting every single day to find the little nugget to get better, which makes Fred and [DB Deommodore] Lenoir want to go talk to them to help out. They’re making it fun, and they just got to keep competing at the level they’re trying to compete at.”