There's yet another head coach opening in Cleveland and the list of candidates for the job continues to grow. We already knew that the , who, want to , . Now, it's time to add a defensive coach to the mix. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Browns have While it makes sense for the Browns to focus their search on offensive coaches, given that they have a young quarterback in who regre sed in Year 2 after a record-setting rookie season, it also makes sense for them to bring in Saleh after seeing how well he's worked in San Francisco with the defense. For most of the season, the 49ers were thebehind only the Patriots. They finished the season having allowed the second-fewest yards and the eighth-fewest points. Fun fact: The actually allowed fewer points (19.3 per game) than the 49ers (19.4 per game) after the 49ers' defense hit a rough patch -- by the standards they established in the first half of the season -- down the stretch. The 49ers allowed 102 points in the first half of the season and 208 points in the second half of the season. Football Perspective (@fbgchase) That's not to say the 49ers' defense is worse than the Chiefs' or anything else like that. There are better defensive metrics than points allowed per game -- like DVOA, Fernando Rodney Jersey which again, has the 49ers in second behind only the Patriots. This 49ers defense remains very good, which makes Saleh an intriguing head coach candidate this winter. This is Saleh's third season as the 49ers' defensive coordinator. The growth under him has been evident as the 49ers have accumulated more and more talent. In 2017, Last season, . So, they've moved up 24 spots over the past three seasons. Before he landed in San Francisco, Saleh worked with the , , and in various defensive a sistant roles, most notably as a linebackers coach in Jacksonville. He's an attractive candidate, even if this year is really the first time he's emerged as viable coaching candidate. While so much of the attention in Cleveland is focused on Mayfield, , , , and the rest of a talented offense that underperformed under Kitchens, their defense is also worthy of attention. It's a talented unit that finished last season , but But all of the pieces are in place for the Browns' defense to ascend in 2020, which would make it an attractive job for a defensive coach like Saleh, who is enjoying his first-round bye with the top-seeded 49ers. If the Browns were to give Saleh the job, it would place even more importance on the offensive coordinator vacancy. Even though defense remains important, the Browns' short- and long-term succe s is directly tied to Mayfield. For the Browns to finally break a playoff drought that dates back to the 2002 season, they need Mayfield to make the leap from promising to legitimately good. It didn't happen under Kitchens and that's why the Browns are looking to hire their seventh full-time coach since 2009. Zach Duke Jersey