Later on Thursday, then-Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen had a change of heart, the Jacksonville Jaguars quickly moved to hire him as head coach and Saleh, who told Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch that he’d return to the 49ers if he didn’t get a head-coaching job, stayed true to his promise.

Robert Saleh, who ran the Niners' defense from 2017 to 2020, is heading back to San Francisco for the same role after a three-plus-year stint as Jets coach.

The San Francisco 49ers might have pulled off the coup of this year’s coaching cycle, bringing back Robert Saleh to coordinate their defense.