49ers coach Kyle Shanahan is in the second year of a six-year deal. The team will give him time to turn it around, and Shanahan sounds as if he will give defensive coordinator Robert Saleh the same courtesy.
“Saleh is a very, very good coach,” Shanahan said, via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area. “He always has been. He still is, and he’s not a finished product, either, like we all aren’t. I think Saleh will continue to get better because he works at it. He’s very smart, and I think he’s good right now.”
The 49ers rank 12th in total defense but 29th in points allowed.
While Saleh got a vote of confidence, Shanahan admitted “tough decisions” await after a disappointing season.
“I know we’re going to have some tough decisions to make, just personnel-wise, possibly staff-wise, just the whole building,” Shanahan said. “But I try not to make any decisions until the time comes. I want to let this all play out.
“You never want to make decisions just to make decisions. When you do have a bad year like we have, just record-wise, I know that’s what people want. They want drastic change. They want quick answers. The key, though, is to get it right and to make sure you do the best thing possible to put our team in the best chance possible to win. That’s what we’re going to do hard after this year.”