SANTA CLARA, Calif. AP - The San Francisco 49ers went back to a familiar face when coach Kyle Shanahan looked to revive a defensive unit that had gone from dominant to mediocre in recent years.
The Niners brought back Robert Saleh for a second stint as coordinator in hopes that he could once again build back the defense in similar fashion to what he did in 2019 when San Francisco's stingy defense helped carry the team to the Super Bowl.
"His commanding presence in defensive meetings is what we needed," star defensive end Nick Bosa said.
The 49ers aren't the only contender that made a change at play-caller on offense or defense headed into 2025. How all of those work out will go a long way to determining which teams are playing deep into January.
Some teams were forced to make changes they didn't want to with Detroit needing to replace both coordinators after Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn got head coaching jobs and Super Bowl champion Philadelphia needing to replace offensive coordinator Kellen Moore after he became Saints head coach.