025 will look a lot different for the San Francisco 49ers. Coming off of a disappointing 6-11 campaign, a lot of changes happened over the offseason– including a massive roster exodus that saw key contributors from the past few seasons depart.
But another big change that occurred in San Francisco was the franchise bringing back former defensive coordinator, Robert Saleh, to take over his old job. Saleh played a big role in helping the 49ers earn a Super Bowl appearance in 2019 and was instrumental in turning the franchise’s defense into a juggernaut.
Bringing Saleh back has both 49ers fans and players alike excited, believing that Saleh’s return will revitalize a defense that experienced major struggles last season. 49ers tight end George Kittle took to The Rich Eisen Show on June 17 and not only expressed his happiness that his old coach is back, but also issued a stern warning for the rest of the league.
Kittle’s Comments
Saleh’s first tenure with the 49ers was a massive success, creating a defense that was both fast paced and physical. And even though the team had some good defenses in the years that followed, Kittle is excited that the team will be able to revert to its original identity now that Saleh is back in charge of that side of the ball.
“Violence is coming is what I would say,” Kittle said.
After Saleh left, the 49ers still managed to rank in the top 10 in total defense during the four seasons that Saleh was the head coach of the New York Jets, but in 2025, the defense experienced a massive dropoff– ranked at No. 28 in scoring defense.
But with Saleh back, the 49ers now have the chance to return to greatness on defense and get back that firepower that they had otherwise lost under last year’s defensive coordinator, Nick Sorensen.
“He’s really good at his job, and I’m really excited that we somehow convinced him to be our defensive coordinator again,” Kittle said. “He knows what he’s talking about, he’s inspiring, he gets the boys fired up, and he just happens to also be really, really smart.
So, I’m pumped to have him back in the building, just hanging out with him a little bit, talking about stuff. You can just tell he’s ready to roll this year, and he’s gonna get the boys fired up.”
Can the 49ers Make a Run in 2025?
Even though Saleh is back, 2025 could prove to be a challenging season– at least at the start. Opting to go with younger and cheaper players– as shown by their draft strategy this year– the 49ers could find themselves going through some growing pains in the early portion of the season, with many of their young guys needing to adjust to the NFL game. But as shown during his first tenure, Saleh is very good at finding young guys that can make an immediate impact.
During the 2019 season, the 49ers drafted Nick Bosa and Dre Greenlaw— two players that not were instant stars, but played pivotal roles during the Super Bowl run. If this time around is any indication, the 49ers could be looking at a very good season.