Nick Bosa would love to see the 49ers keep Dre Greenlaw in the Bay Area for the long haul, and the pass rusher is hopeful the return of Robert Saleh could help that goal come to fruition.
Bosa spoke exclusively to NBC Sports Bay Area while at the Pro Bowl in Orlando, sharing his excitement about the return of his first NFL defensive coordinator and what that means for his linebacker teammate.
“[Greenlaw] is going to do what’s best for him, and he should do that at this point in his career,” Bosa said. “Obviously, we want him back. I know Saleh is very adamant about that.”
Bosa is a five-time Pro Bowler but attending the festivities for the first time in his NFL career, taking the train up from his home in Fort Lauderdale. The All-Pro believes Saleh’s return will have a palpable impact on the defense’s performance.
“It’s huge,” Bosa said. “Familiar face, a guy that I’ve missed. Kind of didn’t know how good we had it when he was there. He FaceTimed me recently and it was just great to see him. He’s a great person and an awesome coach, so I’m excited.”
Saleh helped the defense become what is known for: a stout group against the run that generates takeaways. One the past two seasons, his enthusiastic sideline behavior was missed on the field. Bosa shared that part of the defensive coach’s personality has not changed one bit.
“Super excited, fired up,” Bosa said of the defensive coach. “The fire that you see on the sideline every game is what he was like on FaceTime.”
At the close of the 2024 season, when asked his thoughts on former defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen, Bosa simply replied, “He’s a good coach, but that’s not my decision.” Two days later, the coach was relieved of his duties.
The pass rusher’s opinion of Saleh, however, is decidedly more positive. Bosa shared that he knew who coach Kyle Shanahan’s first choice for the role was before the defensive star returned home to Florida for the offseason.
“Everyone loves him as a guy,” Bosa said of Saleh. “I know Kyle, I talked to him before I left and he was excited to try to pursue him. I haven’t talked to Kyle but I’m sure he’s resting easy.”
The 49ers have a few more coaching positions to fill during the offseason but one of the most important roles appears to be approved of by one of its most important players.
