Once the initial surprise wore off when news broke that the Detroit Lions decided to part ways with maligned head coach Matt Patricia, speculation immediately began to abound as to who his ultimate replacement would be.
Naturally, one of the first names that came to mind of both fans and media alike is San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.
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A Dearborn, Mich. native, Saleh grew up a Lions fan and played college ball in the state. He later attended Northern Michigan and coached at Michigan State, Central Michigan and Georgia.
Addtiionally, a bipartisan group of 36 Michigan House legislators released an open letter to the Detroit Lions Principal Owner Sheila Ford Hamp requesting she consider Saleh to officially succeed Patricia.
However, Saleh maintains that he’s not distracted with his name popping up in such rumors, and is instead focused on the immediate task at hand for his team.
“To be completely honest, I didn’t see anything or hear anything until coming off the practice field,” Saleh said. “So I don’t know what to make of it or anything like that. So it’s just whatever, I guess, you know.”
“This league is so week to week and the most important week right now is Monday Night Football against Buffalo and we’ve got a team that’s in the middle of the playoff hunt, so it’s really a non-issue for me,” Saleh said. “I don’t talk about it. I don’t really even see it. I don’t have social media, I don’t look into the news. So it’s probably more for family and friends to enjoy and get a kick out of than it is for me. We’re completely locked into Buffalo.”
Lions fans, do you see a homecoming in the near future of Saleh?
– – Quotes via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk Link – –
