49ers DC Robert Saleh has an interview scheduled for before Saturday’s game

Initially, the San Francisco 49ers’ defensive coordinator said he hadn’t had any interviews for head coaching positions as of Wednesday. He ended his press conference by saying he wouldn’t interview until Sunday, and the team confirmed that.

According to Tennessee Titans insider Paul Kuharsky, Saleh has a Zoom interview scheduled with the Titans for Sunday morning.

Not so fast.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted on Thursday that Saleh has an interview scheduled late Thursday night for the Arizona Cardinals head coaching vacancy. For now, there is no word on whether the interview is virtual or not.

Arizona requested Saleh to interview on January 6. Saleh feels like one of the top three candidates in this coaching cycle, making the last-place Cardinals in a division with three of the best coaches in the NFL an unlikely destination.

But you never know. The Cardinals have the third pick in the NFL Draft and the 10th most cap space for 2026, and that’s before they create more space by moving Kyler Murray’s contract.

49ers fans might not like the idea of their coordinator investing time in anything other than the Seattle Seahawks this close to kickoff. In Saleh’s mind, “The hay is in the barn.” There is nothing more to put in the game plan.

The 49ers are slated to land in Seattle late Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. PT. It’s a brisk two-hour and 20-minute flight. They could have the walkthrough late morning before they hop on the plane. Again, nothing Saleh does tonight should impact the schedule on Friday.

Detroit Lions fans gave Ben Johnson a hard time for interviewing during the team’s playoff runs, but those were also reportedly virtual. Anything Saleh does tonight is unlikely to impact his thought process 48 hours from now when the 49ers are in a playoff game.

The Steelers also submitted an interview request for 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak for their head coach vacancy, per Dianna Russini.