Photo: Scott Taetsch / Getty Images 2019

Niners defensive coordinator Robert Saleh showed little interest Wednesday in discussing his interview last week for the Cleveland Browns’ head-coaching vacancy.

“I’ll be honest, I’m very grateful for Cleveland coming out here and their hospitality and all that,” Saleh said. “But I’m so locked in on Minnesota, so with respect to everybody, I’d like to keep it about them.”

Saleh, though, did receive a vote of confidence from 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman, who was asked about the third-year coordinator’s credentials.

“I 100% believe he’s deserving of a head-coaching job,” Sherman said. “He’s done a great job. He commands a room really well. He has a great way of relating to his players and holding them accountable.”

However, Sherman also expressed skepticism toward the NFL’s interview and hiring process for head-coaching vacancies, specifically when it comes to consideration of minority candidates.

Sherman said he believes expanding the number of minority head coaches is “always going to be a challenge” and that NFL coaching jobs can “get into the cycle of just, ‘old school.’”

“You can be terrible as a head coach and, no matter what, in a couple more years you’re going to get another job and you’re going to get recycled back if you look a certain way,” Sherman said. “And that’s an unfortunate part.

“Obviously, Robert Saleh is a person of color and got an interview. But I think Lovie Smith — there’s tons of coaches out there that deserve a head-coaching job. (Kansas City offensive coordinator Eric) Bieniemy. But those guys aren’t even getting a look. And ones that are getting a look are just getting it so they can check the Rooney Rule box off. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how much you talk about it, because it’s not changing.”

Although the Rooney Rule, adopted in 2003, requires teams to interview minority candidates for head-coaching vacancies, only four NFL teams employ a minority head coach. According to the Associated Press, black candidates have been hired to two of 19 open head-coaching jobs in the past three years.

Saleh, who was believed to be the league’s first Arab American coordinator when the 49ers hired him in 2017, is one of seven candidates who reportedly have met or will meet with the Browns for their head-coaching job, which is the NFL’s last remaining vacancy. The others are Bieniemy, Brian Daboll, Josh McDaniels, Greg Roman, Jim Schwartz and Kevin Stefanski.

The Browns interviewed Saleh in the Bay Area last week while the 49ers were on their bye week. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Tuesday the interview process did not affect the 49ers’ preparation for their upcoming playoff game against the Vikings and that he felt certain Saleh would make an impression on the Browns.

“You’d have to ask them, (but I’m) pretty confident how Saleh did,” Shanahan said. “Saleh is well prepared for that type of stuff. He’s unbelievably impressive if anyone sits down and interviews him, just like he was when I did. If that’s what they’re looking for, I know they were going to be pumped with what they saw.”

Under Saleh, the 49ers’ defense ranked second in the NFL this season in yards allowed (281.8 per game) and eighth in points allowed (19.4). It also ranked sixth in takeaways (27) and tied for fifth in sacks (48). It was a marked improvement from 2018, when the 49ers set an NFL record for fewest takeaways (seven) in a season and allowed the fifth-most points in the league (27.2 per game).

Matt Kawahara is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mkawahara@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @matthewkawahara