Fred Warner shared Robert Saleh's first message to the 49ers’ defense upon the coordinator’s return with reporters after the first day of voluntary practices in Santa Clara.
“He addressed the room, of course, just kind of letting everybody know how excited he is to be back in the red and gold with the good guys again,” Warner told reporters Tuesday. “It’s crazy that he only knows about three or four guys from when he was here last time; it’s a whole new group. It’s all of us, man. We’re all here trying to get to know each other again, build that camaraderie, and just build from the ground up.
“It’s a whole new team, a whole new group, regardless of some of the familiar faces. So it was good to get that ‘all gas, no breaks’ at the very end, so. It was good.”
With our All Access Daily newsletter, stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams!
SIGN UP HERE Warner is one of the few players remaining from San Francisco’s first Saleh era between the 2017 and 2020 seasons. Those 49ers teams were more up-and-coming than elite, but San Francisco did come within a few unlucky plays of defeating Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, in their first meeting in the big game, in Super Bowl LIV after finishing with a 13-3 record during the 2019 season.
Nonetheless, Saleh’s first day back with his guys went well. And he even had time to catch up with Warner, who Saleh coached over the star linebacker’s first three NFL seasons.
“We sat down and talked early on after he got here, and kind of talked a little bit about how things have progressed on both sides; you know, him over with the [New York] Jets and us here,” Warner told reporters. “We didn’t talk too much about Xs and Os, more so just catching up. But I’ve always believed Saleh’s one of the best in the league, if not the best, in terms of just coaching defense, knowing schemes and talking ball – understanding the game.
“He understands that you can’t just continue to run the same thing and expect different results; you've got to evolve. He mentioned that today, in terms of evolving as a group and as a scheme and different things that we’re running, and ultimately just being the best versions of ourselves when the time comes.”
San Francisco 49ers
Find the latest San Francisco 49ers news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
The 49ers still have plenty to address after finishing last in the NFC West during the 2024 NFL season, especially on the defensive end, considering San Francisco allowed a fourth-worst 25.6 points per game under previous defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen.
Conversely, the 49ers allowed a combined 21.9 points per game under Saleh over the 2019 and 2020 seasons, a figure today’s San Francisco squad would love to recreate.
Warner probably can fit into any defensive scheme across the league as a four-time AP All-Pro and NFL Pro Bowl selection. But even he still is waiting to see how Saleh’s second stint in the Bay will play out.
“I guess time will tell,” Warner told reporters about potential changes under Saleh. “I’m still learning, just like the rest of us, exactly what the differences are going to be. There’s just a common presence when he’s standing up there; it brings me right back to when he was here in his last year, ‘20. I’m so excited and confident in what he’ll deliver for us.”
The 49ers are hopeful to be far better in 2025 than in 2024. And so far, the Saleh era seems to be off to a strong, familiar start.