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The Arizona Cardinals have reportedly requested to interview San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to Sports Illustrated senior NFL reporter Albert Breer.
"The Cardinals have put in a request to interview 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh for their head-coaching job, per source," Breer wrote on his X account Tuesday (January 6).
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 New York 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 went 20-36 during his tenure with the New York Jets, which included going 2-3 before being fired during his fourth season. The 46-year-old 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.
The Cardinals fired former head coach Jonathan Gannon earlier this week. Gannon, who had previously worked as the Philadelphia Eagles' defensive coordinator during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, was hired by the Cardinals in 2023 and went 15-36 during three seasons with the franchise, which included a 3-14 finish in 2025.