Robert Saleh's rise with 49ers fueled by humble, authentic style
Before 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh interviewed for the Cleveland Browns' head-coaching vacancy during San Francisco's playoff bye week, several people close to him and the situation felt that Cleveland had already made up its mind to hire Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, who interviewed with the Browns last offseason. Saleh's visit was simply part of the Browns' process of being thorough.
Many of those people close to Saleh knew how this would go, though. Once the Browns spent time with Saleh, they would be impressed. Impressed to the point where they might take a few steps back and re-think things. And that's what happened, too.
Cleveland went on to hire Stefanski, but not without Saleh getting serious consideration, according to multiple people with knowledge of the process.
It's nearly impossible, multiple people said, not to want to spend more time with Saleh after speaking with him, even once. There is something about his presence, his intellectual articulation of nearly everything he says and does, that elicits positivity and command of the situation.
"I don't like to compare, but I do talk often about the qualities that make up the good and the great, and he embodies those qualities," Niners general manager John Lynch, a 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist who played safety for defensive-minded coaches like Hall of Famer Tony Dungy, Monte Kiffin, Herm Edwards, Mike Tomlin and Lovie Smith, said last week. "He's smart, confident and humble. I think we all know we're on borrowed time with him (in San Francisco).
"We're disappointed for him that it didn't happen this year, but we're thrilled to have him. We do know he's too good of a leader, too good at what he does and too good of a person to not get another chance."
The Browns' decision to hire Stefanski filled the last remaining open head-coaching job this offseason. But don't think the 49ers aren't thrilled to have been able to retain Saleh, who didn't miss a beat in his duties to the team while prepping for and conducting his Cleveland interview. Saleh's defense went out and dismantled Stefanski's Vikings, 27-10, in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, then opened up a can on the Packers in a 37-20 NFC Championship Game victory to springboard San Francisco to this weekend's Super Bowl LIV showdown against Kansas City.
This wasn't a run of vengeance inspired by Saleh being denied. This is what the 49ers have done to get where they are. He's kept players focused, and he's kept himself low-key.
Saleh's humility is not a quality we'd imagine after witnessing a season-long highlight reel featuring the kind of energetic sideline behavior that puts the get-back coach assigned to keep Saleh off the field through the wringer. It's who Saleh is, though. The Pete Carroll-esque screams of celebration Saleh unleashes when Nick Bosa gets a sack, or when his unit makes a stop on third-and-1, have made game-day TV directors focus on Saleh constantly, but otherwise, he's just one of the guys.
"He's got a presence," 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said last week. "He looks like he's been doing push-ups since he was about 2. He's jacked. He's just this gentle giant. So well thought-out and so thorough. I joke with him that he's the type of guy where, if you get something ... I'm the type of guy to just try to put it together; he's going to read the directions completely before he even starts."
Saleh, who will turn 41 this Friday, is almost sheepish in overall demeanor. He's not loud or boastful. He constantly credits others. Still, he casts an aura of confidence that lets players and coaches know he's got this -- and he's got their backs.
Those were just some of the qualities that 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman said the Browns missed out on by not hiring Saleh. The team that does hire Saleh will get the right guy, according to Sherman, who has played under Saleh in San Francisco these past two seasons and also worked with him in Seattle from 2011 through '13, when Saleh served as the Seahawks' defensive quality control coach.
"He's taken a little bit of every coordinator he's ever been a part of, taken tidbits (schematically)," Sherman said Monday night. "He's even taken some of their coaching styles. You see some of Gus Bradley, some of Dan Quinn, some of Kris Richard, some Ken Norton. You see some of Kyle Shanahan, and that makes for a really good product.
"He's super-optimistic. He's positive. Not a lot of yelling. Not a lot of negative criticism. There is criticism. When you're wrong, you're wrong, and he'll get on you when you make a mistake, but he won't say, 'You suck.' He will say, 'I see what you saw, but we need to play this a little better.' It's honest criticism that anybody can accept."
Relatability with his players has been huge in Saleh getting buy-in. He doesn't want the credit he's getting. The players are the ones making the plays, and they should be the ones celebrated, he said. When there is a mistake, it's because he and other coaches didn't coach things up properly, he said.
Respect given; respect reciprocated.
"Think about when your kids were little, and you teach them something, and they do it," he said last week. "The pure joy you get is like nothing else. Or if they had a failure, you could feel the pain. The responsibility you felt as a parent is to find a way to help them. That's what we as coaches feel on game day. For myself, that's what I feel most. When you invest so much time in one another and see the amount of time they put in to perfect certain techniques, and you see it happen in a big moment, you can't help but let this emotion out."
The fact that Saleh says, "when your kids were little," is almost funny. He has six children between the ages of 11 months and 9 years old. They're still little.
Just as he's gained perspective in helping raise so many young children with his wife, Sanaa, he's grown as a coach, especially since he was hired by San Francisco three years ago. Saleh was a first-time defensive coordinator coming in with a first-time head coach (Shanahan) and a first-time GM (Lynch), all of whom dealt with ups and downs while trying to figure out how to get the 49ers to where they are now.
In that first season, back in 2017, Saleh inherited the worst defense in the league and made some positive strides, bumping San Francisco up to 24th in overall defense and 25th in points allowed. Still, the 49ers started 0-9 and didn't look like a real team until quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, acquired in a trade from New England, led them to five straight victories to finish the season with a 6-10 record and raised expectations.
Then, in 2018, Garoppolo tore his ACL in a Week 3 loss to Kansas City -- Sunday's Super Bowl opponent -- and was lost for the season. The defense was up and down, but, according to Saleh, didn't make enough plays in tight spots to win. The Niners regressed, finishing 4-12, while the defense carried mixed-bag rankings of 13th overall and 28th in points allowed.
Although there were issues across the board, there were questions outside of the Niners building about Saleh being the right guy to lead the defense.
"I knew we weren't going to be able to make a huge jump right away," Shanahan said. "People didn't give him enough credit for what we did right away. We made a climb the second year, we had some injuries, and things were tough. Saleh going through those two years, he was forced to do some other stuff (schematically). That helped him grow and develop."
Before the season finale against the Rams late in 2018, 49es owner Jed York, when asked, steadfastly stood by Saleh, citing Saleh's growth, the fact that players competed for him and that Shanahan and Lynch had unwavering faith. This staff was good enough, he said.
The injury-riddled roster wasn't.
The subsequent draft brought Bosa via the second overall pick and starting weakside linebacker Dre Greenlaw in Round 5. Big-money veteran additions Dee Ford (acquired in a trade with the Chiefs and signed to an extension) and Kwon Alexander (signed via free agency) made immediate impacts. The Niners finished the regular season ranked No. 2 in overall defense and No. 1 in passing defense. They've dominated defensively in the playoffs, especially getting pressures (19, fourth in the playoffs) and sacks (nine, tied for the most).
Saleh has mixed coverages, occasionally blitzed from the secondary and schemed matchups that have let players like Bosa, Ford, Arik Armstead and Fred Warner stand out.
"We're always trying to learn about ourselves, right?" Saleh asked. "When I was a quality control guy (with Seattle), I was the computer guy. I spit out as much information as I could. When (then-Jaguars head coach) Gus Bradley gave me the opportunity to be linebacker coach, I was guiding a small group of men, within our scheme, to be their personal best.
"As a coordinator, I want two things. A player wants to know that you care about his well-being. A player needs to be able to feel the investment and the care in them, not just as players. The player also needs to know that you can help them show themselves at their best and make plays on Sundays. They need to know that you know your stuff. If you give players those two things, whether you are a yeller or an introvert, they'll take to you. It's one of the great things that makes this entire organization what it is."
Saleh is not a yeller, by the way. Captain Positivity, like Seattle's Carroll, people with the Niners said.
What else has helped Saleh is working with Shanahan, who consistently challenges Saleh to come up with game plans that would cause issues for Shanahan's offense. Shanahan wanted Saleh, with whom he worked in Houston from 2006 to '09, to be his defensive coordinator originally because the scheme Seattle used under Carroll when Saleh was there was tough to consistently decipher.
In their time together in San Francisco, they've come up with points, counter-points and new points to make each other find schemes to exploit and matchups that help their players excel, Shanahan said.
"He's gotten to hear offensive perspectives, and him and I talk a lot and go back and forth a lot," Shanahan said. "Some stuff helps, and some stuff doesn't. I always wanted a guy who thought about everything and can have detailed answers. The scariest thing as an offensive coach is, if you go to your defensive coordinator and said you want them to do something, and they just do it."
There is another layer to Saleh, one that has confused some and created some uncomfortable discussions when his name surfaced in connection with head-coaching jobs this winter. That's Saleh's ethnicity.
"It's funny because a lot of people wonder what I am," Saleh said. "Am I half-white, half-black? Am I Mexican? I am Arab American. My mom and dad and grandparents are Lebanese. I am full-blooded Lebanese. I was born in a Lebanese household; I am married to a Lebanese woman. I have never shied away from it."
But he also has never worn it on his sleeve. He never thought he had to. If anyone was curious, he would tell them. If anyone made an assumption, right or wrong, about his background, the onus was on them for assuming.
Which is why there was some confusion by some people in the NFL when he showed up as a diversity candidate under the Rooney Rule. The Rooney Rule requires any team with a head-coaching or GM vacancy to interview at least one non-white candidate for the job.
According to multiple people I spoke with, inside and outside the NFL, connected to identifying coaching candidates and involved in actual coaching searches -- including those who work for teams and Saleh himself -- there was some opposition to the idea that Saleh should qualify as a diversity candidate, much of it based on assumptions. Yet, after learning more about him and his background, those with questions or doubts came around, and after widespread discussion, it was deemed that he was a diversity candidate. Saleh was puzzled that anyone would question his status as a diversity candidate, but he kept his mouth shut and went with the flow.
Saleh added that if he ever gets a head-coaching job, his staff will reflect the diverse makeup of this country. It is something that is very important to him, he said.
"I go about my business the best I can," Saleh said. "Judge me for who I am, not what my ethnicity tells me I am or what the media might portray Middle Easterners as. When you look at my background and where I am from -- Dearborn, Michigan, which has the largest Middle Eastern population outside of the Middle East -- we're Arab Americans trying to assimilate within the culture of this country while, at the same time, maintaining the values that make up Middle Easterners. In Dearborn, that includes football. That's a huge part of our lives."
A huge part of Saleh's life at the moment is figuring out how to contend with Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs' explosiveness. It's not giving him much comfort.
"He's like a young Aaron Rodgers," Saleh said of Mahomes. "Their speed. Man, it's like a track team, and he can get the ball to them. We have to be good, and the key is, we have to tackle in the open field."
A side note: 49ers players have repeated this mantra and will continue to do so leading up to the Super Bowl. They're going to prop up Kansas City's strengths, downplay their own and steadily let folks talk about the Chiefs while letting their energy percolate until it's time to show and prove.
The posture, composure, talent and downright bad-ass nature of this defense is why Saleh isn't anxious. His players have stepped up all season, regardless of the challenge. They'll be ready, and not simply because of the talent or the game plan, Saleh said.
"We won shootouts, played in mudders, low-scoring games, games with lots of turnovers, every way you can imagine," Saleh said. "I don't think the success we've had happens unless you go through the learning experiences that we had the first two years here. Kyle and John were implementing this message and culture. Now, the players have taken it over, and it screams the personalities of Kyle and John."
One last thing about Saleh. Once people who know him tell you how "impressive" he is, they'll tell you that he is tight with his money. Oh, man. Everyone, in their own way, mentions how he's not coming off any coin.
Except when it comes to his pride and joy: a nine-passenger van that fits his entire family, and then some.
"Each kid has his own plush seat in the back -- and it was cheaper than the Suburban," he said, validating much of what others said with that last little remark. "There is a 30-inch TV. It has track lighting. When it arrived, I was so proud of it. Everyone was making fun of me for it, but it's the coolest thing in the world."
A tricked-out van. The coolest thing in the world. That's so Saleh, Lynch said smiling.
Impressive, right?
Follow Steve Wyche on Twitter @wyche89.
Channing Frye: If Kobe Bryant had a superpower, he would be the Hulk
If you had a pit in your stomach Sunday night watching the Trail Blazers play, you weren't alone.
Moda Center had a very different feeling as the Trail Blazers went on to defeat the Indiana Pacers 139-129 behind Damian Lillard’s electric 50-point performance.
But, before and after the game tipped off, there were many players either holding back tears or looking off into space as if searching for answers.
Why now? How could this happen to an NBA legend?
Coming to terms with its reality was a struggle. It remains a struggle. It feels unreal.
The Trail Blazers and Pacers game went on as scheduled despite the NBA mourning the death of Kobe Bryant on Sunday.
After the win, the Blazers spoke in the locker room about the man who some grew up idolizing, while other were fortunate enough to face in a game.
Throughout the day NBA players and coaches had been sharing their stories of Kobe.
His competitive nature.
His overall greatness.
Him as a teammate.
A friend.
A father.
For Trail Blazers veteran Carmelo Anthony Sunday was a nightmare.
Melo and Kobe played together on Team USA for the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics.
Their relationship was special.
They kept tabs on each other via texts, phone calls, and dinners.
Playing in game just hours after learning the horrific news was more than difficult for Melo.
The 17-year veteran held back tears as he spoke to the media.
It probably was the hardest game I’ve ever had to play. Just… It was tough… Honestly knowing him, the way that I know him, he would’ve wanted me to play. – Veteran Carmelo Anthony holding back tears as he spoke on Kobe’s passing
The 35-year-old admitted that for him Sunday was not at all about basketball.
“I had to try to pull myself back in and check back in emotionally because I wasn’t there today,” Melo said.
Over the last few months, Anthony has discussed how being away from basketball for a year put a lot of things in perspective.
Now Sunday night, it was as if he had to do that all over again.
Our friendship and relationship was deeper than basketball, it was family, it was friendship… Basketball is the last connective tissue between us to. – Carmelo Anthony
Both Lillard and CJ McCollum also had relationships with the Black Mamba, but of course, it wasn’t to the extent of Melo and Kobe.
“We talked about it before the game,” Lillard said. “Coach just said that obviously, it’s a tough situation for everybody that had to play today, especially the ones that was friends with Kobe and had a real relationship with him. We’ve got two guys in our locker room who’re really close friends with him and then guys like myself and CJ who actually had a friendship with him and was familiar with him – we’re not the only ones… Everybody felt a way today, was hurt today. But we had to carry on so I think it was the right decision for us to go out there and compete in his honor.”
Lillard did just that. In Kobe’s honor, he not only put up 50 points, Lillard also dished out 13 assists and pulled down six rebounds in the win. McCollum added 28.
“It was tough, it was an emotional day,” McCollum said. "Not just for me, I really feel for my teammates. Trevor (Ariza) and the relationship he had with Kobe.”
Ariza was not made available to the media after the game.
Bryant and Ariza played together for one and a half seasons and won an NBA Championship together in 2009.
McCollum explained how growing up he was scared to meet the Lakers Legend.
“I knew Kobe, we had a decent relationship where we would talk when we see each other but I’m just thankful I was able to express the impact he had on my life, basketball, my work ethic, my approach, my brother’s approach. Our whole family, our coach, the NBA. I would always tell people he was the guy I was afraid to meet him and Michael Jordan. I knew Lebron growing up too, and although he’s like Mount Rushmore great, Kobe was the one I didn’t really know, so that was a guy I was afraid to meet. That really hurt, just to see the reception across the country, all of the lives he impacted, people that didn’t know him. It shows you how special he was outside of basketball. I pray for his wife, his family because lord knows what they’re going through,” McCollum said.
On a night where Lillard made history becoming the first ever Trail Blazer in the team’s history to score at least 40 points in three straight games, it was a night to discuss what Kobe has meant to everyone around the league.
“I didn’t think about basketball today to be honest,” Melo said. “I just knew that I had to do it. This is my job. I’m a professional. I’m sure he would’ve wanted me to play.”
Anthony said he talked with Kobe two days ago where they discussed Bryant’s plans to come to the Blazers-Lakers game next Thursday night at Staples Center.
Basketball lost a legend Sunday. Kobe Bryant will be greatly missed, but his legacy, his inspiration, will carry on for generations.
Scottish Cup: Dundee Utd's Robbie Neilson on cricket, coaching & Hibs
Robbie Neilson's United have won 17 of their 21 league games this seasonScottish Cup fourth round: Dundee Utd v HibernianVenue: Tannadice Date: Sunday, 19 January Kick-off: 15:00 GMTCoverage: Watch live on BBC One Scotland, listen on BBC Radio Scotland, and follow live text commentary on the BBC Sport website
Robbie Neilson is fretting about Sunday. His Dundee United side host Hibernian in the Scottish Cup fourth round, but that is not what is worrying the head coach. Rather, it is the Masters assignment he is due to submit the following day.
The 39-year-old needs to produce a 30-minute video on "coaching the coachee", then do a critical, reflective report.
"God knows where I start with that," he says, with a look somewhere between panic and bewilderment. "I need to get the finger out because I should have started it ages ago. But now it will probably end up being a problem for Sunday night and all done at the last minute."
For someone who was last in a classroom at the age of 15, the routine of studying has come as something of a shock to former Hearts and MK Dons boss Neilson, who started his degree in sports directorship in September.
The majority of the course is distance learning, but every six weeks or so, he spends a few days at Manchester Metropolitan University with around 25 other students from various fields.
A large cohort are from the world of cricket, which is entirely alien to Neilson - "there's a boy Petersen who played for South Africa... Not Kevin" - as well as others from football, hockey and business. One familiar name is Edinburgh scrum-half Henry Pyrgos, while former Hibs head coach Paul Heckingbottom started the term before opting instead to pursue a PhD.
"I don't really follow any other sports, but I've really enjoyed it," says Neilson, who will travel south next week. "It's a wee break from the day-to-day of talking about who started for Inverness.
"When you go on football courses, we all know each other and people are quite guarded because they might be playing against you on the Saturday. But on this one, everyone is very open. You go down there and the rugby boys will be talking about something and you'll think 'that's no bad, I quite like that' and take it away and try it.
"It brings a bit of freshness to your players. You want them to learn, so it's important that you do the same yourself and be a role model."
One of Neilson's assistants, Lee McCulloch, recently graduated from the course, with both having been pointed towards it by United sporting director Tony Asghar. All three are advocates of fusing practices from other sports with football, with the likes of James de Montfort, the former head of fitness at Red Bull Formula 1, having visited the club, as has Scotland rugby coach Gregor Townsend.
The latter, in particular, piqued Neilson's curiosity, with the United head coach and his other assistant, Gordon Forrest, attending Scotland training sessions before last year's World Cup.
"Some of the stuff they're doing, especially around analysis and getting players to engage with it is fantastic," he says. "I've thought a lot about the culture and togetherness of rugby and I'd like to get that in our teams. The thing they've got is that you can get seriously injured if you don't play as a team, whereas football's not quite like that. So that's a puzzle to try and solve."
Keeping the US owner in the loop
While some of his peers might spend their days consumed by the minutiae of running a club, the way United work allows Neilson the time and space to consider such conundrums.
During his first year in charge, American owner Mark Ogren has invested heavily to buff up the faded glamour of the Tannadice outfit. As well as renovating the ground and bolstering the playing budget, there was a spell when a new head of this or that seemed to be appointed every other week.
Given that United - under Neilson - missed out on their stated aim of promotion last season, some might have doubted whether that initial munificence would continue, but instead it has accelerated. And so, too, has the team. United sit 17 points clear at the summit of the Scottish Championship, with fans already poring over fixture lists in a bid to divine when the title might be clinched.
Whether Ogren is doing likewise in his Minnesota base remains to be seen, but the avuncular owner has struck up a strong relationship with Neilson. Indeed, before each match, the head coach emails a report to the States outlining what the team, tactics and challenges will be.
"It's just so he's in the loop," explains Neilson, who did similar at both Hearts and MK Dons.
"The people who invest the money should have all the information. He watches the game and he shouldn't be doing that having no idea what is happening. He should understand why we are doing things - if a player is injured, or we're leaving someone out - because ultimately it's his team and he pays the bills."
Cup tie offers a taste of things to come
Ogren will not be at Tannadice on Sunday as United attempt to gauge their progress over the past year. Neilson is very careful to talk about "if" rather than "when" it happens, but it would take an astonishing collapse now for United not to end their four-year exile from the top flight and make fixtures such as these more regular.
Watching Hibs in preparation has been refreshing for the head coach, who acknowledges that the United fans will expect a side that has won 11 of their past 12 matches to win again, regardless of their visitors' Premiership status.
"It's a brilliant chance and it's going to be a test, but we believe if we play as we can, we've got an opportunity," Neilson says. "We've aspirations to get into the top flight and this gives them a taste of hopefully what is to come."
And what is to come? Will United return to the elite with an aim of just surviving? Or will their ambitions be grander?
"It's down to what the owner wants and the financial clout he gives us," says Neilson. "Are we going to be a team that goes up and wants to stabilise? Or are we going to be a team that tries to push for the top six, or even higher than that?
"What I'd like to see is promotion, top six, then try and get the team into Europe. That's do-able at a club like this and I think we've got the players - and the young ones coming through - that can get there, but it's about how quickly we can get there."
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