In the wake of the Detroit Lions' firing of head coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn last week, a group of Michigan state legislators have asked Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp to consider hiring San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh as the team's next head coach.

According to ESPN's Michael Rothstein, the legislators wrote a letter to Hamp that stated:

"We understand the difficulty of these upcoming decisions. As passionate and loyal Lions fans, we are asking you to hire Robert Saleh as the head coach of our team. He is the best candidate for the job and measures as such across every metric. A head coach like Robert can bring tremendous energy and heart to the franchise and would help us reach peaks that have seemed unobtainable for so long. We have an exceptional opportunity here and we trust you to make the best decision.

"To turn the corner and become a winning franchise, these next hiring decisions are critical. We hope that you will consider Robert Saleh as the head coach, not only for us, but for everyone across the loyal fanbase of our beloved Detroit Lions."

Saleh is considered one of the best defensive minds in football and figures to be a hot head-coaching candidate during the offseason. He also has ties to the state of Michigan—he was born in Dearborn, Michigan, played college football at Northern Michigan and served as an assistant coach at Michigan State and Central Michigan.

Michigan state Rep. Abdullah Hammoud tweeted that representatives from both parties came together to endorse Saleh:

The 41-year-old Saleh became the Niners' defensive coordinator in 2017 after the team hired Kyle Shanahan as head coach.

Over the past two seasons, San Francisco has been one of the NFL's top defensive teams. En route to reaching the Super Bowl last season, the 49ers ranked second in total yardage allowed and eighth in points allowed.

This season, the 49ers are sixth in total defense and 11th in scoring defense, which has helped keep the team's playoff hopes afloat with a 5-6 record.

Several key players on that side of the ball are injured, including defensive linemen Nick Bosa, Dee Ford, Solomon Thomas and Ziggy Ansah, making the defense's performance even more impressive.

By comparison, the Lions have struggled mightily on defense over the past two seasons despite Patricia's defensive background.

Last season, Detroit was 31st in total defense and 26th in scoring defense, and it ranks 29th in total defense and 31st in scoring defense this year.

The 4-7 Lions are unlikely to make a run toward the playoffs under interim head coach Darrell Bevell, meaning they are in line to miss the postseason for a fourth consecutive year.

While the Lions need to make some big changes to their on-field personnel to become playoff contenders, bringing in a respected voice like Saleh to be the head coach could help reverse their fortunes as well.