Winter Mailbag II: Robert Saleh is back. But for how long can the 49ers keep him?

Part 1 was all Warriors. This is Part 2 of my Winter Mailbag, leading off with 49ers questions and including some thoughts on the Giants, with even a little Sharks tossed in.

A note: I received no questions about Brock Purdy’s contract situation with the 49ers, which is the true pivot point of this offseason. Clearly, 49ers fans don’t seem too worried about this negotiation; I think that’s an accurate take. This probably will get done. But the timing is important, too. The 49ers and Purdy don’t want this stretching into OTAs and minicamp and forcing Purdy to make a decision whether or not to skip those sessions, “hold-in,” or whatever.

I heard from a plugged-in NFL source this week that the 49ers and Purdy’s camp are, indeed, feeling like there won’t be fireworks on the way to an eventual deal. But I’ve also heard generally that the framework might be a little different than some other recent QB deals. I suspect this means the 49ers could be pitching a shorter-term, lesser-guarantee deal compared to the full-commitment deals signed by Trevor Lawrence, Justin Herbert, and others over the last few years. Will Purdy and his agent be happy with that? Assuredly, there’ll be some negotiations. Nobody makes their best offer right off the bat. It might take time.

Now to the questions. As always, some parts have been edited for length and clarity. And here we go …

What’s the plan with Robert Saleh? One-and-done to another head-coaching role or do they get any stability? — @MrVinAZ via X.

As I wrote last week, Saleh’s second defensive-coordinator tenure certainly could turn out to be the 49ers’ third consecutive DC one-year stint. He was a solid head-coaching candidate this cycle and if he gets the 49ers’ defense back into the league’s elite, he’ll probably be near the top of any 2026 candidate list.

One difference this time, I’ve heard: More so than with any other assistant-coach decision of this era, Jed York was personally involved in this move — agreeing to the top-of-the-market salary for Saleh and, at some point, trying to solidify staffing into the future. Basically, I think the 49ers’ leaders — from York to Kyle Shanahan to John Lynch — are trying to set this up for Saleh to stay with the 49ers for more than one year. At the very least, they’ll make it easy for Saleh to be very picky about the place and timing of his next job.

And generally, because they need him so much and don’t have an instant replacement (like they did with DeMeco Ryans back when Saleh left after the 2020 season), Saleh has more influence walking in the door now than he had at any point of his first stint here.

Were you surprised that the 49ers didn’t seem to pursue Lou Anarumo for their DC position? He’s had a history of creating great game plans against elite QBs and seems to be in the mold of Steve Spagnuolo, Vic Fangio, etc., in terms of bringing adjustability that it seemed Shanahan was looking for. — ‪@kwilks.bsky.social‬.

I don’t think the 49ers viewed Anarumo quite at the level of Spagnuolo and Fangio, who both at different times were top Shanahan DC options over the years, and both run very different systems than the 49ers run now. Spagnuolo is a Hall of Fame-level coach, in my view, but he won’t get there because he failed as a head coach. Fangio, if he wins a Super Bowl with the Eagles, will be up there, too — also with a bad head-coaching stint. But Anarumo, who had some impressive defenses in Cincinnati over the years, also fielded a lousy unit last season, which got him fired. He’s now the DC in Indianapolis. I don’t think that profile is enough for Shanahan to move off of his preferred style of defense. Which Saleh, of course, ran better than almost anybody in his first 49ers tenure.

People are saying with Saleh now in the building, Shanahan won’t spend time assisting on the defensive side of the ball. Was he actually spending a significant amount of time on the defense? How much did that really affect the offense? — @Neal_5 via X.

I might’ve been the first one to suggest that the Saleh hiring allows Shanahan to stop worrying about the defense, so I’ll answer your question directly: It’s probably not so much about the actual minutes and hours that Shanahan had to spend in the defensive meetings rooms. It’s more about the stress of fretting about how things were being taught and applied by Nick Sorensen and Steve Wilks over the past two seasons — and what that meant during the games. Especially the most important moments in games.

I don’t know if all that changed the way Shanahan ran the offense on a play-to-play basis, but I’m fairly certain it changed the way the whole team operated. Including Shanahan.

Do you think they’ll use their first-round pick on a tackle? Someone who could play right tackle now and then move over to left tackle when Trent Williams retires would be great for this team. — @caleb_holden3 via X.

If Shanahan and Lynch fall in love with an OT who’s available at No. 11, they’ll take him, plop him at RT, and consider him a long-range LT for whenever Williams retires. But they’ve been very clear — to take an offensive lineman that high, it has to be a slam-dunk guy, somebody like Penei Sewell (seventh in 2021) or Joe Alt (fourth in 2024). But those kinds of talents usually aren’t there past the top seven or eight. Maybe if LSU’s Will Campbell starts to slip, the 49ers can jump up from 11. Or if they decide that Texas’ Kelvin Banks Jr. is an immediate starter.

But more likely, the 49ers will go with their basic plan: Take somebody who can rush the passer or score touchdowns. One or the other. And the likeliest position for No. 11 in this draft seems like it’ll be DT.

Any way the 49ers draft Tyler Warren? Pro Football Focus already lists him as the No. 10 fantasy tight end in 2025. He dominated some very good Big Ten linebackers. Exact same size as Rob Gronkowski in his draft year. — @kooshusa via X.

Even though the 49ers already have George Kittle, Warren would be a very intriguing option for the 49ers at 11. Their biggest offensive problem last year was scoring in the Red Zone, when Kittle (8 touchdowns) was just about the only reliable end-zone option for Purdy. Why wouldn’t the 49ers want two Kittles? And if anything, Warren is more athletic than Kittle and can be used in even more formations.

But I think No. 11 might be a little too high for the 49ers to take another tight end. Given the depth of athletic DTs in this draft and the 49ers’ clear need at the position, that might be the spot for the 49ers to take a difference-maker. Now, if they get a great offer to move down, say, into the mid-teens, then I think Warren might be the target — and the 49ers can get their DT in the second round or with one of the extra picks.

Do Shanahan, offensive line coach Chris Foerster, and the front office have a greater appreciation for Colton McKivitz and Jake Brendel than the fans? — ‪ ‪@andrewh49.bsky.social‬.

Yes, but it’s more specific than just overlooking or minimizing the mistakes and missed blocks we all can see in just about every game. It’s that the 49ers’ leaders believe that it usually costs too much to upgrade at offensive line for potentially marginal gains when larger investments in the defensive line and receiver positions more often lead to giant results. So the 49ers almost always put their chips into positions other than OL and believe they can turn lower-reviewed linemen into inexpensive but serviceable starters.

Khalil Mack obviously isn’t the same level of player as the first time Kyle and John pursued him, but do you see them pursuing him again this offseason? — @CBitz1215 via X.

As always, if the price is right, any signing is possible. And Mack can still impact games. But he’ll turn 34 next month and his production is going way down — he only had 6 sacks and 39 tackles in 16 games last season. Maybe the 49ers can get Mack on a cheap one-year deal, but there’s always a reason you can get a former All-Pro guy at a cheap rate.

Special-teams players come primarily from your depth chart. A new coach is great, but hasn’t the bigger part of ST problems been poor drafts in ’21-’23, not necessarily coaching? — @rj0802 via X.

Personnel, even on special teams, is always part of it. But it’s not like anybody peruses the Chiefs’ special-teams units and thinks they’re loaded with great players. At some point, the overall focus of a team is either that special teams are very important (like in Kansas City) or they’re not (in many other places, including the 49ers). That trickles down. The 49ers, as Lynch and Shanahan always accurately note, have invested in specific special-teams players through the years. Not just drafting kickers but adding and keeping guys like George Odum and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles. So why hasn’t it worked? Many reasons. Coaching is one of them. We’ll see what happens in 2025 with new special-teams coordinator Brant Boyer.

In your time covering the 49ers, who, in your opinion, has been their best special teams coach? —@tdwaterhouse75 via X.

Brad Seely under Jim Harbaugh and it’s not close. Seely was so sharp that he was also Harbaugh’s “game management” guy in the booth during games — whether to go for it on fourth down, kick a field goal, or punt.

Are we missing or undervaluing what the Giants have done this off-season? — @Nyasa via X.

Buster Posey wanted a shortstop and got Willy Adames for pretty big money. He wanted a veteran starter to plop into the middle of a young rotation and he got Justin Verlander on a one-year deal. Is that all very splashy? Not so much, though we’ll see about prized international signee Josuar De Jesus Gonzalez in three or four years.

I think Posey might put together a bunch of these kinds of offseasons: nothing rash, adding to the foundation, trying to put this thing together as a stable, cohesive roster and franchise. And there’s no other way to judge how he’s doing until the Giants either are in the playoff race every year and looking like an appealing place for future major free agents — or not.

Does Posey need to make a trade to solidify the roster? Do you sense there’s anyone currently on the roster that might be a surprise trade candidate? — ‪@ddeselle.bsky.social‬.

I don’t think there’s much available out there on the trade market. If Posey could’ve gotten something significant for LaMonte Wade Jr. or Camilo Doval, I think they would’ve been traded already.

I know the Sharks are struggling again but have you watched any Macklin Celebrini highlights? —@Nellis510 via X.

I’ve watched the highlights and regularly flip the channel over to Sharks games just to see what Celebrini is up to. And I’ve been impressed, most of all, with his anticipation. He doesn’t move the quickest and he’s not bowling anybody over, but he just seems to move to the right spot a split-second before everybody else.

My general formula for spotting hockey superstars: If I can tell when he’s on the ice even if I can’t see his jersey number, he’s great. Just by the way he moves and the way the puck and other players move around him. And I can always tell when Celebrini is out there, even if I can’t see his No. 71, because he’s distinctive, because the puck seems to find him, and because the flow of the game is different when he’s out there.