Given his excellent work as a defensive coordinator for the past four seasons, it was only a matter of time before Robert Saleh found a job as head coach this winter.
The New York Jets agreed in principle to a contract with Saleh, allegedly a five-year deal after Kyle Shanahan spent the last month of the season acknowledging his coach’s imminent departure.
Without Saleh, it will be an adjustment, but he leaves the team in a good position, so it’s kind of a win for both parties.
Saleh’s promotion to head coach also earned 49ers choices in the third round of the draft in 2021 and 2022, under the new NFL rule to drive the hiring of minority coaches and general managers. So Lebanese-American Saleh leaves San Francisco a parting gift.
RELATED: LaFleur leaving 49ers, joining Saleh’s team as OC
Considering that the 49ers had already given up their choice of the third round of 2021 to the Washington Football Team to acquire Trent Williams, this is a great pickup. The compensatory selection will take place at the end of the third round, bringing the current San Francisco pick count to 10. 49ers must also receive a pair of fifth round compensation choices and have rights to the Jets’ seventh round.
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If 49ers ‘players’ vice president of personnel, Martin Mayhew, wins the position of general manager, San Francisco could receive another compensatory choice in 2023. The minority hiring rule also gives franchises three consecutive choices in the third round if a technician and general manager find new jobs in the same off-season.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, Mayhew is due to give an interview with Washington on Friday.
Since 2017, the NFL has approved the marketing of compensatory picks. All of this is good news for 49ers if they try to put together an attractive draft package to acquire Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans.