Last offseason, 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh got some looks as a potential head coach, but in the end, he returned to the Bay Area for another season. That’s worked out very well for Kyle Shanahan’s team, as Saleh has done a masterful job this season, despite injuries that would have taken less gifted coaches right out of the picture. Still, San Francisco ranks ninth overall in defensive DVOA, and Saleh has been able to elevate backups to prime positions despite massive injury issues.
Michigan legislators have taken notice, and a few of them have been lobbying the Lions to hire Saleh — who was born in Dearborn, Michigan and had his first two coaching jobs at Michigan State and Central Michigan — to replace the recently fired Matt Patricia as the team’s next head coach. Per ESPN’s Michael Rothstein, Rep. Abdullah Hammoud and his staff wrote a letter to Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp urging her to consider Saleh above all other candidates.
“We understand the difficulty of these upcoming decisions,” the letter read. “As passionate and loyal Lions fans, we are asking you to hire Robert Saleh as the head coach of our team. He is the best candidate for the job and measures as such across every metric. A head coach like Robert can bring tremendous energy and heart to the franchise and would help us reach peaks that have seemed unobtainable for so long. We have an exceptional opportunity here and we trust you to make the best decision.
“To turn the corner and become a winning franchise, these next hiring decisions are critical. We hope that you will consider Robert Saleh as the head coach, not only for us, but for everyone across the loyal fanbase of our beloved Detroit Lions.”
Hammoud told Rothstein that he was just trying to give his favorite team a “helping hand.” Given the Lions’ recent history of head coaches, it might not be a bad idea to listen to outside sources.
“In the time of COVID also, we all kind of lean on our sports teams,” Hammoud said. “We all kind of watch together, we watch, chat about it online, social media, whatever it might be, so we really want the Lions to succeed in some capacity.”
Hammoud isn’t the only public figure thinking that Saleh will be a head coach sooner than later. Following San Francisco’s 23-20 win over the Rams last Sunday, cornerback Richard Sherman testified to Saleh’s greatness as you rarely see from a player.
Any franchise looking for a HC should listen to Richard Sherman's take on Robert Saleh pic.twitter.com/FQFwGADNqO
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) November 30, 2020
“You’ve got to give coach Saleh an abundance of credit, you have to give him an unusual amount of credit and I don’t think he’s getting enough credit, not only here but the league in general,” Sherman said. “To have the injuries that we’ve had week after week after week.
“He never makes an excuse. And statistically we’re still a top-five defense in almost every category. There are guys out there with Pro Bowlers, All-Pros, never had injury, never had any adversity and they are not putting out a top-five defense. He’s not making excuses. He’s making great plans week-in and week-out and we’re making it happen and I think, I expect him to be a head coach next year because of what he’s able to do. He’s able to rally men. He’s a leader of men and that goes a long way.”
Indeed it does, and the Lions could do a lot worse. Between Patricia and some of the other guys they’ve hired in the last few decades, they already have.