‘No disappointment’ from 49ers’ Robert Saleh after getting passed over for Browns job

Kyle Shanahan earlier this week said he was “pumped” his defensive coordinator Robert Saleh didn’t get a coveted head coaching job.

“It’s like a backhanded compliment, right?” Saleh said with a laugh Thursday.

Saleh, of course, spent a portion of the 49ers’ bye during the first round of the playoffs interviewing for the Browns head coaching vacancy that was later filled by Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stafanski, whom Saleh helped beat in the divisional round against Minnesota last Saturday.

It was Saleh’s only head coaching interview of this cycle while it’s widely believed he’ll be a head coaching candidate in the near future, perhaps next year.

Shanahan expects to have Saleh as his defensive coordinator for a fourth straight season next year, marking the first time the 49ers have maintained continuity at the position since Vic Fangio held the post from 2011 to 2014.

“Every year we keep him we’ll be very fortunate,” Shanahan said.

Saleh has presided over a massive turnaround for the 49ers defense that’s preparing for Sunday’s NFC Championship against the Green Bay Packers. The group finished last season allowing quarterbacks a 105.4 passer rating, the second-worst mark in the NFL.

This season, it lowered that rating all the way to 83.0, which ranked seventh-best, though it allowed just 169 yards per game, the lowest average in the NFL since 2009.

Saleh said he wasn’t set back by not getting the Cleveland job despite proving to be a worthy candidate.

“There’s no disappointment,” he said. “I’m very grateful for the Browns and having me be a part of it, but just actually I’m a really big fan of (Browns owner) Jimmy Haslam and what he did and what they’re going to go through. I think they’ve got something going and I think they hired the right guy and they’ve got a chance to do something special, so I’m excited to see him progress.”

Saleh also said he appreciated Shanahan’s support throughout the process and helped him evolve as a coach during the past three seasons.

“He really supports everybody. He is not one to look at a coach and say, I’ve got to get rid of this dude,” said Saleh. “His first instinct is to try to make you better and help you get better. To understand Kyle and to work with Kyle is really a gift that I think a lot of people should have once in their life because of the fact that he’s always striving to help you get better.

“And that’s what I think makes this organization tick is that everybody in this organization is always trying to help each other get better, and because of it, Kyle feels invested in all his coaches, and I do believe him when he says that he’s happy because he feels like he’s invested in me, which he has, and because of it, I take it as a compliment.”