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Former New York Jets head coach and current San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is reportedly finalizing a deal to become the next head coach of the Tennessee Titans, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ESPN's Adam Schefter late Monday (January 19) night.
"ESPN sources: Titans are working to finalize a deal to hire 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh as their head coach. Saleh spent Monday in Tennessee with the Titans, and the two sides impressed each other enough to move forward together," Schefter wrote on his X account.
Saleh went 20-36 during his tenure with the New York Jets, which included going 2-3 before being fired during his fourth season.
Saleh re-joined Brian Shanahan's 49ers staff this past offseason after previously holding the same position from 2017 to 2020 before accepting the head coaching position with the Jets in 2021. San Francisco ranked seventh among all 32 NFL teams with 351.4 points per game and 10th in scoring defense with 25.7 points allowed per game in 2025.
Saleh previously told ESPN that he was "always" going to return to the Niners during the offseason unless he received a head coaching offer, with Shanahan echoing those sentiments.
"He was definitely our first choice; we were hoping that we would be his, and that's what he told me early on," Shanahan said. "I was glad he stuck with his word or we would've had beef."