D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images
May 9, 2025; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, right, confers with defensive coordinator Robert Saleh during the team’s rookie minicamp.
Ahead of Sunday’s matchup with the New York Giants, Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Saleh expressed his admiration for second-year running back Cam Skattebo. However, he did so in a way that didn’t sit particularly well with San Francisco Giants head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Saleh burst onto the scene as an NFL head coaching prospect while serving as the defensive coordinator for Shanahan and the 49ers from 2017 to 2020.
After a disappointing stint as the head coach of the New York Jets from 2020 to 2024, during which he went just 20-36, Saleh returned to San Francisco ahead of the 2025 season.
It was there that he first learned about Skattebo and Shanahan’s admiration for the former Arizona State star.
#Titans HC Robert Saleh says the #49ers were prepared to draft RB Cam Skattebo last year, but the #Giants took him right before they were on the clock.
“Kyle (Shanahan) loved him.” pic.twitter.com/6g5d2WH7IH
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 23, 2026
The San Francisco 49ers Wanted To Draft Cam Skattebo
The Giants selected Skattebo in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft with the 105th overall pick. Eight picks later, San Francisco selected defensive tackle CJ West out of Indiana. West has turned into a solid player for the Niners. But if Skattebo had been on the board, it appears he would have been the pick.
“I know going into the draft, we were actually about to draft him in San Francisco,” Saleh said on Wednesday. “Kyle [Shanahan] loved him. And he ended up getting taken right before we were picking.”
As it turns out, Shanahan wasn’t exactly happy with the fact that Saleh made that information public.
Kyle Shanahan did not love Robert Saleh revealing that info https://t.co/HhTzW6yXUt pic.twitter.com/a5ZEdM9aZF
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) September 25, 2026
“Yes, I do,” Shanahan answered when asked whether it bothers him when former assistants make that sort of information public.
While it may seem small, especially given that Skattebo is a Giant, that sort of information could come back to bite the 49ers down the line. It could provide leverage for New York in any future trade talks, and it gives insight into San Francisco’s draft process.
So while it may seem like an innocuous, offhand comment, you can understand why Shanahan wasn’t all that happy.