Robert Saleh

Biography

Born January 31, 1979, in Dearborn, Michigan, to Lebanese immigrants, Robert Jalal Saleh graduated from Fordson High School in 1997. He attended Northern Michigan University in Marquette from 1997 to 2001, earning a degree in finance while playing football. Saleh was a four-year starter as tight end for the Wildcats, earning all-conference honors, though he would become far more renowned for his coaching career than his playing days. His brother David's survival during the September 11 attacks in 2001—he was in the South Tower's sixty-first floor and escaped before the second plane hit—inspired Saleh to pursue his dreams of coaching football. Saleh began his coaching career in 2002 as a defensive assistant at Michigan State before working at Central Michigan and Georgia. He joined the Houston Texans as a defensive intern in 2005, advancing to assistant linebackers coach by 2009. In February 2011, Saleh joined the Seattle Seahawks as defensive quality control coach under Pete Carroll, spending three seasons with the team including their 2013 championship season when Seattle's "Legion of Boom" defense dominated the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. He then served as linebackers coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2014 to 2016. On February 13, 2017, Saleh was named defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers under head coach Kyle Shanahan. Coaching strengths include building aggressive, attacking defensive schemes, exceptional player development, strong relationship-building skills, and the ability to maximize talent through creative play-calling. During the remarkable 2019 season, Saleh's defense ranked second in total defense at 281.8 yards per game, first in passing defense at 169.2 yards per game, and fourth in sacks with forty-eight—the first time since 2003 the 49ers finished top ten in both scoring and yards allowed. He helped lead San Francisco to a 13-3 record and Super Bowl LIV appearance, though they lost to Kansas City 31-20. On January 14, 2021, Saleh became head coach of the New York Jets, making history as the NFL's first Muslim head coach. He compiled a 20-36 record (.357 winning percentage) before being fired after a 2-3 start in 2024. Saleh returned to the 49ers as defensive coordinator in 2025, guiding an injury-depleted unit to finish eleventh in points allowed as San Francisco posted a 12-5 record. On January 22, 2026, the Tennessee Titans hired Saleh as their head coach. He and his wife Sanaa have eight children and both speak Arabic.