This swiftly could turn into a highly desperate situation if the 49ers miss out on Robert Saleh, their top choice for defensive coordinator, and they basically run out of other notable options from the Pete Carroll defensive tree. Maybe it’s already pretty desperate, right?
Well, here’s a solution to ease many anxieties:
Why not just check in with Carroll?
That is, if the Raiders don’t hire him as their head coach, of course. But you never know what the Raiders will do. And Carroll’s conversations with Las Vegas are strong indicators that Carroll is quite interested in getting back into the NFL in some way; also, he and Kyle Shanahan have mutual respect from their days going up against each other and Carroll is one of the original architects of what’s known, because of Carroll, sas the “Seattle Style” defense — the 4-3, Cover 3 defensive scheme Shanahan has always chosen for the 49ers.
In fact, as the 49ers anxiously wait for the outcome of Saleh’s interview with Jacksonville for the Jaguars’ head-coaching vacancy, I’ve heard that Carroll’s name has come up inside 49ers HQ as an interesting idea, at least. But the 49ers also have to wait out things with Carroll, who, according to The Athletic, could be the Raiders’ No. 1 choice now that Ben Johnson has taken the Chicago Bears’ job.
The point is, whether they expected all this or not, Shanahan and John Lynch have to come up with an alternative plan if Saleh emerges as the Jaguars’ choice after Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Liam Coen decided to remain with the Buccaneers. Jeff Ulbrich, another potential 49ers top choice, just signed on to be the Atlanta Falcons’ new DC.
Other than Saleh, the 49ers have officially interviewed defensive staffer Brandon Staley and Detroit Lions defensive backs coach Deshea Townsend, though other unofficial and indirect inquiries always occur in these kinds of high-profile searches. And it’s likely that the 49ers already have thrown out a few flares to Carroll just to see if he’d be interested.
“Energy” is a key word in this 49ers’ DC search, I’ve heard — the implication being that Steve Wilks in 2023 and Nick Sorensen last season didn’t do much to rev up their players during their one-year DC tenures. Saleh, who was Shanahan’s first 49ers DC from 2017-2020 before leaving to take the top spot with the New York Jets, definitely brings energy wherever he goes. So does DeMeco Ryans, who replaced Saleh as 49ers’ DC, then left after two seasons to take over the Houston Texans.
And Carroll, at 73, is still probably the most energetic candidate the 49ers could possibly consider. Just think, he could return to the 49ers DC role he first had … 30 years ago, from 1995 to 1996, under George Seifert (just missing Mike Shanahan’s 49ers OC tenure by one year).
Would Shanahan be comfortable bringing in someone with such a long and heralded history? Yes, I think he would, since Shanahan confirmed to me last summer that before hiring Sorensen, he offered the DC job to Bill Belichick, who turned it down. Added point: If Belichick hadn’t taken the North Carolina job recently, Shanahan might’ve offered him the DC spot again this month.
And here’s what Shanahan told me in January 2024 — after Carroll’s 14-year tenure with the Seahawks ended — about going up against Carroll:
“Their team played at another level than most guys. And when you talk about how they compete and all that stuff and all those words that he uses, which is great, but what really is great is the film that he had.
“And I really caught it right away in my first year as a head coach, just how physical they were on offense, defense, special teams. Regardless of what you were playing with schematically, really what it came down to, is how much you got after it and how physical guys were.
“That’s what I always felt like. Us and Seattle played a little bit differently. I think that always started with Pete.”
Maybe the interest will go nowhere. Maybe Carroll is only interested in head-coaching opportunities, not being another coach’s staffer. Maybe Shanahan and Lynch want somebody who projects to coach more than a few more years. But 2025 really sets up as a go-for-broke season. Carroll might be eager to take the responsibility. And I’ve been told that the 49ers understand the logic: If you’re looking for somebody to run the Pete Carroll system, it’s silly not to ask if Pete Carroll just wants to do it himself
This is what Shanahan said earlier this month when asked if he’d like his new DC to run the same Seattle-style system the 49ers have always run:
“I love the scheme that we’ve had here. I think it’s one of the hardest things to go to when you’ve got the right guys in the right spots. But I do think people adjust to schemes, and I think you have to adjust too, depending on your personnel. And I think that was a tougher thing for us this year. … I’m not saying you’ve got to change schemes, but you have to have the ability, the history and the knowledge of how to change some stuff up when you’re in some certain situations. And I think that we do need that more going forward.”
Run the Carroll system. Bring in somebody experienced enough to adjust it when necessary. Hmm, I think there’s a potential candidate who fits that model.