On Tuesday, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan expressed shock over the New York Jets' decision to fire their head coach, Robert Saleh.
"That stuff throws you off, especially when they're competing for first in the division this week," Shanahan said. "And I think they're up there on defense and got a pretty good team and a chance to have a hell of a year. So, that was pretty surprising."
Following the news, fans speculated about the possibility of Saleh reuniting with Shanahan in Santa Clara, perhaps even as a consultant to aid the struggling 49ers defense. Some vocal fans suggested that Saleh should replace first-year defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen, although such a move is highly unlikely mid-season.
On Wednesday morning, 49ers general manager John Lynch addressed the situation during his weekly interview on KNBR, a Bay Area radio station.
"First of all, my heart goes out to Robert," Lynch said. "And I talked with Rob yesterday. He's a great friend. He always will be. His family, they're great friends. And that was tough. He did a lot of good things there. He couldn't get it over the hump, and they made a tough call."
Lynch expressed confidence that Saleh would bounce back. Saleh recently mentioned he plans to take some time off and be ready for the next coaching cycle, when he'll likely be in high demand as a defensive coordinator.
"He'll be okay," Lynch continued. "He's a really good football coach, really good human being, and he's got a lot of ties here."
Lynch was clear about the possibility of Saleh returning to the 49ers organization this season: "We're not focused on that right now."
He emphasized the team's satisfaction with their current coaching setup, including Sorensen as defensive coordinator and Brandon Staley in a supporting role.
"Nick is our coordinator, and I think Nick's doing a really good job coaching," Lynch said. "The results haven't been what we wanted, and this is a results-oriented business. Nick understands that. We all understand that. But I watch with the fine-tuned eye, and I think he was the right choice when we chose him. I believe even more strongly in that.
"I think we've just got to come together as a unit. We have endured some injuries, some things of that nature, but ultimately, we've got to pull together. I think, in the last couple weeks, just simple fundamentals, tackling. We want to play aggressive and swarm people, but ultimately, we've got to tackle the guy with the ball. We've got to take the ball away, gotta make the plays when the game's on the line.
"But I do think our unit is well coordinated. Our schemes are sound. It's a big week for everybody. We've gotta come together. We've gotta find a way, and we gotta forge our identity, who we wanna be as this team. And I love the character in our organization. We've put ourselves in a tough hole. We've been here before, and we've come out of it."
Lynch added, "We're happy with the way we've got things going in terms of the way things are being coached, and as to what happens in the future, you just can't prognosticate. We're focused on the now. We're focused on Thursday night against Seattle."
