The Raheem Morris era is officially over in Atlanta, which means the Atlanta Falcons are in the thick of their third head coaching search in the last five years. They've gotten off to a hot start on the interview front, but this process is far from over, and a lot can change over the next couple of weeks.
With that said though, that hasn't stopped the Falcons from requesting interviews with potential candidates. They already have three in the works, but a fourth is coming after they requested to interview San Francisco 49ers' defensive coordinator Robert Saleh for their head coach opening.
The Titans and Falcons have put in requests to interview 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh for their head coaching jobs, per source. The Cardinals already requested Saleh, who can't interview until next week.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 8, 2026
The 46-year-old also has interviews scheduled with the Titans and Cardinals, but these interviews won't commence until the 49ers are eliminated from the playoffs, which could happen as soon as this weekend, since the Niners are slated to face the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles on Sunday.
Like Morris did when the Dirty Birds hired him, Saleh comes with previous head coaching experience, and that could be the deciding factor between him and other candidates. While his head coaching stint didn't end great, it's clear that hiring him could help a young Atlanta defense take another leap.
Robert Saleh is an interesting head coaching candidate for the Falcons
Saleh spent a little over three seasons coaching the New York Jets, where he compiled a 20-36 record as head coach. However, he still managed to lead the Jets to back-to-back 7-10 seasons with Zach Wilson as the starting quarterback, so he didn't do as bad of a job as people might believe.
The only reason he was fired in the first place was because of the reported rift between him and Aaron Rodgers, and Woody Johnson sided with the future Hall of Fame quarterback. The Jets' defenses were also among the best in football under Saleh and have fallen off since his firing.
The best part about potentially hiring Saleh is that he would almost certainly retain Jeff Ulbrich as his DC. Ulbrich was his DC (and interim successor) in New York , so their past working relationship could be the key to ensuring the mastermind to the Dirty Birds' defensive success in 2025 sticks around.
However, for as much as good as Saleh did with the Jets, the Falcons are better off hiring a first-time head coach, notably an offensive mind. Saleh's OC choices have been underwhelming, and they can't let another regime waste the potential of Michael Penix Jr. and an offense that's elite on paper.
He did an adequate job with Gang Green, but he and Joe Douglas' inability to solve the QB woes got him fired, which is exactly what happened to Morris and Terry Fontenot. There's a difference between working with Blank compared to the inept Johnson, but there are too many similarities between them.
In all honesty, the Falcons could do worse, but they could also do far better.