Earlier this offseason, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan brought Robert Saleh back as their new defensive coordinator. Saleh spent four seasons as the New York Jets' head coach before being fired early last season.
Before landing the Jets head coaching job, Saleh was the defensive coordinator in San Fran for four years, making a reunion not far-fetched after cutting ties with Nick Sorensen. Nonetheless, the 49ers aren’t done bringing former staff members back to the organization.
According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC-2, the Niners are expected to bring Ethan Waugh back into the organization. Waugh had been the assistant general manager with the Jacksonville Jaguars since 2022 under Trent Baalke (former San Francisco exec).
Waugh also served as the interim GM for a short period this offseason as Jacksonville worked to fill that role, which they did with the hiring of James Gladstone. Before becoming the assistant GM with the Jaguars, Waugh spent most of his pro football personnel career in the Bay Area.
Waugh was a personnel assistant for four years (2004-08) before being elevated to the 49ers’ Midwest regional scout for three years (2008-11).
After spending time in San Fran’s scouting department, Waugh, under the direction of Baalke (49ers GM at the time), was named their senior personnel assistant (2012-14) and then senior player personnel coordinator (2015-17).
From there, Waugh spent three seasons as the 49ers’ director of college scouting and football systems and was promoted to vice president of player personnel (2021-22). It’s unclear what role Waugh will have in his return to the Bay Area.
Nonetheless, the 49ers will have no problems welcoming back another familiar face with experience working in different aspects of the organization. We'll see if Waugh and Saleh can help San Francisco get back on track after an abnormal 2024 season.