LaFleur snidely responds if Saleh helps Packers prepare for 49ers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is now in enemy territory.
No longer coach of the New York Jets and instead serves as offensive consultant for the Green Bay PackersSaleh is giving coach Matt LaFleur all the help he can before their Week 12 matchup against San Francisco.
“He’s been helpful,” LaFleur told reporters with a smile Wednesday when asked if Saleh provided any information about the 49ers, declining to elaborate further.
The former Jets coach joined the Packers in a unique role last month after New York fired him, giving LaFleur and his offensive unit a defensive perspective on things. And while LaFleur spent three seasons with 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan in Washington from 2010-13, Saleh has more recent experience under Shanahan from 2017-20.
“He does a great job as well,” LaFleur said of Saleh’s strictly offensive role. “He always gives us a nugget. I mean, there are plays that come up in discussions that we’ve executed in games that have been pretty successful, so he’s been a great asset.”
When the Jets fired Saleh After their 2-3 start to the NFL season, there was speculation that he might join the 49ers as the team’s defensive unit struggles with growing pains under new leadership. DC Nick Sorensen. But he quickly found a new home in Green Bay, putting those rumors to rest almost as soon as they started.
It’s unclear if Saleh will be at Lambeau Field on Sunday with the Packers. He was at Levi’s Stadium in Week 1 when the 49ers handed his Jets their first loss of the season, but LaFleur revealed that Saleh now helps Green Bay during the week and spends time with his family on the weekends.
Although they never worked under Shanahan at the same time, LaFleur and Saleh go back a long way. They were graduate assistants together at Central Michigan in 2004 and worked together with the Houston Texans in 2008 and 2009, with LaFleur also serving as best man at Saleh’s wedding.
Now that they are reunited, Saleh’s main goal is to help his new team and his old friend, while doing everything he can to beat another.
