It’s a wild turn that suddenly put Saleh in a position where he’s unlikely to land a head coaching job. For the entire process the 49ers have essentially been banking on Saleh not getting a lead job anywhere and re-joining San Francisco as their defensive coordinator.

The 49ers keep missing out on the top defensive coordinator candidates on the market as they wait for Robert Saleh. Which means the 49ers might need to scramble to find a second option. And that backup option could be Pete Carroll.

The San Francisco 49ers are in the midst of a crucial search for a new defensive coordinator, and one name recently floated is none other than former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, according to The San Francisco Standard‘s Tim Kawakami The 73-year-old coach,