For another season, the San Francisco 49ers fall short of their Super Bowl aspirations. The performance against their division rival, the Seattle Seahawks, was abysmal. It happened in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, making the loss even worse.
The 49ers must figure out a way to improve from this season, but after losing their defensive coordinator, Robert Saleh, there’s doubt that it will happen.
Former NFL Player Lists His Concerns After the 49ers Lose Robert Saleh
Recently, the Tennessee Titans became the fourth NFL franchise this offseason to hire their new head coach. Saleh will be leading the Titans in their new era of football, and although that’s great news for Tennessee and Saleh, the 49ers lost an excellent defensive coordinator.
This is a significant hit to the coaching staff, and according to former NFL LB Emmanuel Acho, this loss could spell doom for the 49ers’ hopes next season. On “Speakeasy,” Acho spoke his mind, offering a prediction of the future.
He said, “San Francisco 49ers, you are, and we are in GIGANTIC TROUBLE… I think it’s a terrible move for [Robert] Saleh. You saw what happened to the defense when Robert Saleh went to the Jets. Kyle Shanahan was absolutely lost…dumbfounded. ”
Explaining further, Acho broke down incidents from the past, “Defense went from top 5 in football to bottom 15 in football. San Franciocsco 49ers, it does not matter if Nick Bosa and Fred Warner are out there. If the defensive coach hired is not the right one, the season is over before it ever begins.”
“San Francisco 49ers, you are in GIGANTIC TROUBLE… I think it’s a terrible move for [Robert] Saleh”
– @EmmanuelAcho weighs in on the breaking news of Robert Saleh becoming the new head coach of the Tennessee Titans
COME JOIN THE CONVO NOW ➡️ https://t.co/f4H3dQB55c pic.twitter.com/pJPENI8Ehi
— Speakeasy (@speakeasytlkshw) January 20, 2026
Acho’s warning makes sense given the 49ers’ success under Saleh, but the defensive fall-off was never really felt until 2024, well after Saleh was gone.
Looking at the PFSN NFL Defense Impact Metric, the 49ers ranked 8th in 2020 under Saleh, despite a 6-10 record. From 2021-2022, now Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans was the DC, and the defense had even better rankings (7th in 2021 and 3rd in 2022). Even in 2023, when Ryans left, the 49ers had a 9th-ranked defense.
Again, 2024 was the year when it really went bad. San Francisco finished that season 26th.
Even with all these stats, everything Acho said can still come true, especially if the 49ers fail to find a great DC. There are still great options on the open market, but with teams starting to build their coaching staffs, the 49ers must act quickly.
There are many defensive coordinators out there. What is everyone getting excited about losing this one. The 49ers will bounce back next year.