The San Francisco 49ers have a massive game in Week 18 against the Seattle Seahawks. Whoever comes out victorious will claim the NFC West and No. 1 seed in the conference.

Nonetheless, despite having the playoffs on the horizon, the Niners’ defensive coordinator, Robert Saleh, could be in the coaching rumor mill soon. Saleh has adopted a bend-but-don’t-break mentality for his defense, which has lost Fred Warner and Nick Bosa.

Amid the 49ers coach working with what he has to help San Francisco win games, his name is again popping up as a potential head coach candidate. During a December 29 appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show,”

 ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter shared what he’s hearing regarding Saleh.

“I think Robert Saleh is definitely going to get interviewed here in this cycle,” Schefter said on the program. “We’ll see whether or not he gets one. That certainly will be a possibility. His name has been bandied about here as a candidate. Trying to think of other guys that they would have.

“They have a young guy on their staff, Klay Kubiak, who eventually, I think, is going to be a head coach one day—Klint Kubiak’s brother. I don’t know that he’s there yet, but eventually he may get there. They have some young GM candidates there as well. From the head coaching standpoint, Saleh would represent their best hope to get one this offseason.”