Robert Saleh was a first-time head coach when he joined the New York Jets back in 2021 but the calamity of his tenure left him needing "therapy" in the aftermath.

Let all of their defensive free agents leave and replace them with rookies and second-year players. As a result, the 49ers defense might take a step backward before it takes two forward. But last season,

Saleh was the 49ers' defensive coordinator in 2017 and 2018. San Francisco's defense struggled in both years, finishing 25th and then 28th in scoring. But the 49ers enjoyed a vast improvement in 2019 (No. 8) en route to the NFC title.