San Francisco 49ers Had Interest in New York Jets Head Coach in Offseason

The San Francisco 49ers wanted to hire the New York Jets interim head coach as their defensive coordinator.

Feb 3, 2024; Mobile, AL, USA; National head coach Jeff Ulbrich of the New York Jets talks with staff during the first half of the 2024 Senior Bowl football game at Hancock Whitney Stadium. / Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

After firing Robert Saleh earlier in the week, the New York Jets will have a different look on Monday night when they take on the Buffalo Bills.

Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich was named the interim head coach, giving him a chance to prove to the Jets and other teams that he deserves a chance to be a head coach.

Ulbrich, believed to be one of the brightest defensive minds in the NFL, has put together a solid coaching career during his time in New York.

Under Ulbrich, the Jets have consistently been one of the top defensive teams in football.

Due to the success he's found, other organizations also had an interest in him in the past.

Of those teams include the San Francisco 49ers.

According to John Breech of CBS Sports, the interest in Ulbrich was significant, as they tried to poach him from New York in the offseason to be their defensive coordinator.

"After the New York Jets fired Robert Saleh this week, the team named Jeff Ulbrich as the interim coach, and in a twist, the only reason Ulbrich was even available to take the job is because Saleh wouldn't let him leave.  Back in February, the San Francisco 49ers were thinking about possibly hiring Ulbrich as the team's defensive coordinator. The job had previously belonged to Steve Wilks, but he got fired shortly after San Francisco's 25-22 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII."

Losing him to the 49ers would've been a tough blow, but he could've been interested in returning to the team he played with for 10 years in his NFL career.

However, according to Breech, there wasn't much of a chance it ever would've happened.

"Unfortunately for Shanahan, the Jets did have some say in the process. Since Ulbrich was the defensive coordinator in New York and he would be taking the same job in San Francisco, the Jets had the power to veto the move and that's what Robert Saleh did. "

While the Jets had the ability to veto the move, it's still an interesting situation to consider for the future.

NFL teams want to be defensive-minded, so there's a good chance that if Ulbrich has a solid stint throughout the remainder of the season, he'll land a job with a different team as a head coach if New York doesn't offer him the gig.

Until then, all the Jets can worry about is winning games.

When the time comes, they'll figure it out.