Tag: 49ers coaching search

49ers may have fixed biggest problem with latest hire

There’s a new special teams coordinator in the building for the 49ers.

The San Francisco 49ers on Monday announced the hire of new special teams coordinator Brant Boyer in a move that may fix their biggest problem from the 2024 season.

While injuries and execution on both offense and defense played key roles in the 49ers’ 6-11 finish last season, their incessant special teams miscues catalyzed a handful of losses early in the year that spurred their end-of-season faceplant.

In Week 2 there was a blocked punt against the Minnesota Vikings. In Week 3 there was a fake punt for a first down and a big punt return late that led to a Los Angeles Rams comeback victory. And those are just the first few in a long string of mishaps that ultimately derailed San Francisco.

The 49ers immediately fired special teams coordinator Brian Schneider after the season and aimed to replace him with fired defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen. Instead, Sorensen is leaving San Francisco which opened the door for Boyer to step into the vacancy at special teams coordinator.

It looked like the 49ers might aim for a younger special teams coordinator who didn’t have a ton of experience, but they went the opposite route with a proven veteran coach like Boyer.

He was the special teams coordinator for the New York Jets beginning in 2016. There he survived three head coaching changes and was on the staff under then-Jets head coach and new 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.

Prior to joining the Jets in 2016, Boyer was an assistant special teams coach for four years with the Indianapolis Colts from 2012-15.

Boyer entered the NFL in 1994 as a sixth-round pick of the Miami Dolphins. He played for 10 seasons with the Dolphins, Jaguars and Browns. In 130 games he racked up 323 tackles, 13.0 sacks and six interceptions. He interned for the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants before getting his first coaching job with the Colts.

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Will 49ers get draft picks if they lose Robert Saleh again?

This could get interesting.

There’s an interesting wrinkle to the San Francisco 49ers’ re-acquisition of defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.

While they’re gaining an experienced defensive coordinator with a strong track record, they may also gain another opportunity to secure a pair of third-round draft picks if he’s hired to be another team’s head coach.

San Francisco got two third-round compensatory picks (one each in the 2021 and 2022 drafts) after Saleh was hired by the New York Jets before the 2021 season because of the expansion of the NFL’s Rooney Rule. Teams acquire two third-round compensatory picks if a minority coach or executive is hired into a head coach or primary executive role with another team.

What’s unclear in the text of Resolution JC-2A whether teams will be awarded compensation if the minority coach or executive has been in a head coach or primary executive role with another team previously.

According to the text of the resolution published by Over the Cap, it would appear San Francisco would get a pair of third-round picks if Saleh spends at least two years with the 49ers and is then hired as another team’s head coach.

Via Over the Cap:

  • The employer-club shall be eligible to receive this Draft choice compensation if:

    • The minority employee hired as a Head Coach or Primary Football Executive has been employed by the employer-club for a minimum of two full seasons; and

    • The minority employee is not the Head Coach or Primary Football Executive of the employer-club and is hired into the same position with the new club. There can be no break in employment between clubs.

There’s no other stipulations in the resolution denying the awarding of comp picks if the assistant has previously been a head coach. If there is a rule against double-dipping on comp picks, it’s not written into JC-2A.

The bigger issue for San Francisco may be keeping Saleh around for more than one year. He was a head coach candidate in 2025, and there’s a strong chance he’s a top candidate in 2026 if he helps the 49ers defense return to form next season.

Perhaps the NFL will alter the rule at some point, but for now it looks like the 49ers could benefit again from the 2020 expansion of the Rooney Rule.

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49ers long defensive coordinator search is officially over

Robert Saleh is BACK.

It might have taken longer than they wanted, but the San Francisco 49ers finally have their defensive coordinator for the 2025 NFL season.

According to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner, the expected reunion between the 49ers and former defensive coordinator Robert Saleh is officially happening after Saleh was passed over for the Jacksonville Jaguars job.

Saleh was one of two interviews the 49ers announced for their DC opening, opening the door for speculation that San Francisco knew Saleh wasn’t going to land one of the head coach openings.

That took a turn in the lead up to the NFL’s conference championship games when the Jaguars’ top candidate, Liam Coen, backed out of the running before his second interview. That left Saleh and Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham as the lone candidates with second interviews, introducing new speculation that Saleh was the favorite for the job.

Then on Jan. 23, news quickly broke that Coen would once again pursue the Jags job after they fired general manager Trent Baalke. That quickly turned into news that Coen would be taking the Jaguars’ job, opening the door for Saleh to step into the 49ers’ DC role.

Saleh spent the 2017-20 seasons in San Francisco where he helped transform a dreadful 49ers defense into a Super Bowl caliber unit in his third season. After 2020 he was hired to be the New York Jets head coach where he spent the 2021-24 seasons. He was fired by the Jets after five games in 2024, and exited New York with a head coaching record of 20-36.

His defenses in New York were stout, though. They struggled in his first year, finishing last in the league in points and yards allowed. By his second season they leapt to No. 4 in both categories. They finished No. 3 in yards allowed the following two years.

He had similar success in San Francisco with his defenses finishing No. 2 and No. 5 in yards allowed is final two years.

The 49ers circled Saleh as their top candidate from the start, which makes sense since he checks all the boxes they’re looking for in terms of experience and prior success.

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All signs point to reunion between 49ers and their No. 1 option at DC

The 49ers appear to be in line to land Robert Saleh as their defensive coordinator … for now.

Things started breaking right for the San Francisco 49ers in their trek to land Robert Saleh as their next defensive coordinator.

It looked early Thursday as though the 49ers may need to wait until after the Super Bowl for an answer on Saleh’s future as the potential head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. It also at that time looked like he was the favorite to land the job.

Then reporting surfaced from ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Thursday afternoon that Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen, who had pulled out of the running for the Jaguars job, was back in the running for the Jags job after the team fired general manager Trent Baalke.

It’s a wild turn that suddenly put Saleh in a position where he’s unlikely to land a head coaching job. For the entire process the 49ers have essentially been banking on Saleh not getting a lead job anywhere and re-joining San Francisco as their defensive coordinator.

While that was the expected outcome if he missed out on a head coach spot, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco reported a confirmation that Saleh told the 49ers he’d join their coaching staff barring an offer to be a head coach:

Nothing is finalized yet, and if the Jaguars have shown the NFL world anything over the last couple weeks it’s that anything is possible in their search for a head coach.

For now, all signs point toward Saleh missing out on that job, which would land him back leading the 49ers defense in 2025.

Update

Liam Coen is going to be the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach per the Athletic’s Jeff Howe.

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3 big days coming up for San Francisco 49ers DC search

All eyes on Jacksonville.

The future of the San Francisco 49ers defense could be decided over the next three days as the Jacksonville Jaguars coaching search winds down.

Jacksonville has second interviews scheduled Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesday will be Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen, Thursday is Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, and Friday is former 49ers DC and New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh.

Saleh is the No. 1 target for the 49ers in their hunt for a defensive coordinator. A reunion makes a ton of sense. San Francisco wants to find an experienced DC who can bring some of the fire and in-game adaptability that helped define the best versions of the 49ers defense during head coach Kyle Shanahan’s tenure.

Given Saleh’s prior success with the 49ers, it’s no wonder they set their sites on him early in the process and have only announced his interview and one other (Detroit Lions DBs coach Deshea Townsend).

However, his candidacy with the 49ers rides on whether he receives a head coaching job, which appears to be determined over the three days of second interviews.

In an ideal world, the 49ers won’t have to wait past Wednesday after Coen’s second interview. According to the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud, that’s what the Buccaneers are bracing for.

If Coen doesn’t get the offer Wednesday, we’ll likely see the wait continue for the 49ers into the weekend. It’s not ideal that they’ve put themselves in a spot where the success of their defense could come down to how well other coaches do in second interviews in Jacksonville. That’s the position the 49ers find themselves in though, so the next few days will be big for their franchise.

All eyes on Jacksonville.

 

Buccaneers bracing for misfortune that would be 49ers gain

The 49ers should be rooting hard for Buccaneers OC Liam Coen on Wednesday.

The San Francisco 49ers will have a close eye on the Jacksonville Jaguars coaching search, which may be taking a turn Wednesday.

Their top defensive coordinator candidate, Robert Saleh, is set for a second interview with the Jaguars later in the week. If Saleh gets a head coaching job, the 49ers would be at square one in their search for a new defensive coordinator. With coaches like Jeff Ulbrich off the board and Dennis Allen on track to come off the board soon, San Francisco wouldn’t have any of their reported preferred options remaining.

A report from Tampa Bay Times’s Rick Stroud brings some good news for the 49ers though.

Stroud reported the Buccaneers are bracing for their offensive coordinator, Liam Coen, to become the next head coach for the Jaguars. His second interview with Jacksonville is slated for Wednesday.

Perhaps Tampa Bay is just being cautious after hiring three OCs in the last three years. However, teams don’t typically brace for this level of impact unless they have some inkling the coach is at least part of the way out the door.

It’s worth noting Coen is the lone offensive coach of the three reported to be getting second interviews with the Jags. Saleh and Las Vegas Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham are the other two. With quarterback Trevor Lawrence and a handful of young offensive weapons already in place, it stands to reason the Jaguars would want to maximize that group.

The Bucs’ misfortune would be the 49ers’ gain since Saleh appears lined up to take the 49ers DC job if he doesn’t land a head coaching gig. He also had interviews lined up with the Raiders and Dallas Cowboys, but his name hasn’t been tied as heavily to those clubs as it has to the Jaguars.

Tampa Bay will be watching closely when Coen interviews again Wednesday. The 49ers will be, too.

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49ers miss out on one potential defensive coordinator candidate

We can rule out Jeff Ulbrich for the 49ers’ DC job.

The San Francisco 49ers’ list of potential defensive coordinator candidates appears to be short, and it got shorter Saturday when NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero reported the Atlanta Falcons were set to hire Jeff Ulbrich as their new defensive coordinator.

Ulbrich has been a popular name in the 49ers’ defensive coordinator conversation because of the success he had running the New York Jets defense under then-head coach Robert Saleh. He was also the Jets’ interim head coach after Saleh was fired.

Saleh is the other name atop the 49ers’ list. He is one of the two interviews they’ve completed. Detroit Lions defensive backs coach Deshea Townsend is the other they’ve announced. Assistant head coach Brandon Staley is also expected to get an interview. Former Saints DC and head coach Dennis Allen is another name to watch per ESPN.

The Falcons hiring Ulbrich isn’t a huge issue since the team seems to have zeroed in on Saleh. However, Saleh has three head coach interviews and there’s a real chance the 49ers miss out on a chance to bring him in because he landed one of those jobs.

This could become a significant problem for San Francisco. They’re aiming for experience and continuity at the DC position and the net they’re casting has been exceedingly narrow. If they continue taking their time waiting on Saleh, they could wind up scrambling to just hire a new coach before new coaching staffs starting getting built out. That puts them in a very precarious position at perhaps the most important position on their coaching staff in the offseason.

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ESPN NFL head coach predictions are great news for 49ers

These head coach predictions would very likely mean a Robert Saleh reunion for the 49ers.

The San Francisco 49ers would love to see ESPN’s head coach predictions come true.

It appears that former 49ers defensive coordinator and New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh sits atop their list of preferred replacements for Nick Sorensen. He’s already interviewed for the job and he checks all the boxes the team is looking for in the new head of their defense, on top of his experience with the 49ers as their DC from 2017-2020.

While the 49ers would like to lock down a DC, they’ll have to wait on Saleh who is interviewing for head coaching jobs. A bit of good news on that front for San Francisco comes in via predictions on the six head coaching vacancies from ESPN’s Dan Graziano.

Saleh isn’t one of the people predicted to land a head coaching gig in this cycle. In fact, Graziano only has Saleh listed as a candidate for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Las Vegas Raiders. He does describe Saleh as a “sleeper” for the Jags job.

Via ESPN:

A sleeper here could be Robert Saleh, whose interview with the team will happen Tuesday. Saleh, who was fired as the Jets’ head coach early in the 2024 season, spent three seasons as the Jaguars’ linebackers coach on Gus Bradley’s staff from 2014 to 2016.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if Saleh is passed over in this cycle given some of the high-profile names on the open market and his lack of overall success with the Jets. Saleh was 20-36 while leading the Jets and was fired only five games into this season.

He should get another shot at being a head coach eventually, but the 49ers would love to see him get that chance in a different year so he can run their defense in 2025.

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ESPN offers intriguing name for 49ers in defensive coordinator search

The 49ers can’t leave their list of DC searches short.

The San Francisco 49ers appear to have their sites set on former defensive coordinator Robert Saleh as their No. 1 option in their search for a new defensive coordinator.

However, with Saleh interviewing for head coaching jobs, the 49ers can’t bank on landing him. San Francisco did interview Detroit Lions defensive backs coach Deshea Townsend, but it seems unlikely they’d want to hire a person with no previous defensive coordinator experience.

Former 49ers linebacker and New York Jets interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich is another name that has been floated after San Francisco tried to poach him from New York last offseason.

The two former Jets coaches have gotten plenty of run in the 49ers DC rumor mill, but ESPN’s Nick Wagoner highlighted another name that fits the veteran DC mold San Francisco desires.

Via ESPN:

While Saleh and Ulbrich are considered top candidates, another name worth keeping a close eye on is former New Orleans Saints coach Dennis Allen. Allen has extensive experience, working eight years as a defensive coordinator in Denver and New Orleans, almost six seasons as a head coach with the Saints and Raiders and another year as the Saints senior defensive assistant.

Allen’s name may not carry the same heft as Ulbrich, Saleh, particularly in the Bay Area where he flamed out as the Oakland Raiders head coach. He went just 8-28 in 36 games guiding the Raiders from 2012-14. His coaching record was better, but still not spectacular as the head coach in New Orleans. The Saints went 18-25 with Allen at the helm.

What is important is his tenure as the Saints DC the seven years before being hired as their head coach.

Those New Orleans defenses were dreadful in Allen’s first two years as their coordinator, but they improved in both points and yards allowed virtually every year he was running that unit. By Allen’s penultimate season as their DC, the Saints finished No. 4 in yards allowed and No. 5 in points allowed. The following year they were No. 7 in yards and No. 4 in points.

This isn’t to say Allen should necessarily be the 49ers’ choice ahead of Saleh or Ulbrich. It is worth having as many experienced DCs on the short list as possible, and Allen’s years running a defense combined with his 4-3 base defensive scheme make him a logical fit in San Francisco even if he isn’t atop their list of preferred candidates.

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49ers interview coach with 2 years experience for ST coordinator job

This would be a dramatic change.

The San Francisco 49ers shouldn’t be leaving any stones unturned in their search for a special teams coordinator who might be able to improve their special teams unit.

That includes looking into coaches who may not have a ton of experience, which is the route they went when interviewing Denver Broncos assistant special teams coach Chris Banjo. NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo first reported the interview.

Banjo only entered the coaching ranks in 2023, but he wasted no time getting into coaching after his 10-year NFL career. He was an undrafted rookie signing by the Jacksonville Jaguars after the 2013 draft. Banjo also spent time with the Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals.

His final NFL season was 2022, then Denver hired him as their assistant special teams coach the next year. While Banjo doesn’t have any experience playing under Broncos special teams coordinator Ben Kotwica, he does have a connection to Denver via their defensive coordinator Vance Joseph. Joseph was the DC for the Cardinals during Banjo’s entire tenure there.

Banjo was listed as a defensive back during his career but he primarily contributed on special teams. He played a career-high 436 defensive snaps under Joseph during the 2020 season. That nearly eclipsed the 512 defensive snaps he played during his other nine seasons combined.

It’s not a surprise Banjo landed as a special teams coach given his expertise in that facet. His career also included more than 2,400 special teams snaps.

Perhaps the 49ers are aiming for a younger set of eyes to look at what they’re doing on special teams after leaning on veterans like Richard Hightower and Brian Schneider during head coach Kyle Shanahan’s tenure. It would be a risky switch, but given the team’s struggles with their special teams units, it may be a risk worth taking.

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