Tag: 49ers coaching staff

Will Kyle Shanahan, 49ers fire another defensive coordinator?

Nick Sorensen doesn’t appear to be going anywhere any time soon.

One of the side effects of the San Francisco 49ers disastrous 2024 season has been an increasingly bright spotlight on the coaching staff.

While head coach Kyle Shanahan earned his share of scrutiny, defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen has come under fire after the 49ers defense allowed a combined 73 points across Weeks 12 and 13 in losses to the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills.

Despite a pair of putrid defensive performances, Shanahan backed his defensive coordinator in a Monday conference call.

“Yeah, I’m very satisfied with Nick,” Shanahan said. “I’m not at all satisfied with the results and how it’s going right now. But, some of the mistakes that we’ve made, I don’t think or what’s happened here in these last two weeks, I don’t think that’s a schematic issue. It’s a little bit more of a fundamental issue. And that also starts with me. That goes to all coaching, and it goes down to the players, it goes to everyone in this building. But the results here these last two weeks haven’t changed my opinion on Nick.”

The 49ers parted ways with defensive coordinator Steve Wilks after last season, so it makes sense Shanahan wouldn’t be eager to make another change in the coming offseason.

It’s also worth noting Sorensen is a first-time defensive coordinator and that Robert Saleh dealt with a couple of rough seasons before breaking out a star DC and head coaching candidate in 2019.

What’s clear, if Sorensen is indeed sticking around, the 49ers need something to change defensively. If it isn’t the defensive play caller, then it’s either a schematic shift that needs to happen or a personnel overhaul.

Even before their two-week meltdown there was a clear issue with a once-dominant San Francisco defense this season. How they go about making those changes will ultimately determine Sorensen’s future, and perhaps the future of the Shanahan era.

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49ers defensive coordinator gets vote of confidence from Kyle Shanahan

Robert Saleh back to the 49ers? Don’t bank on it.

An interesting potential wrinkle was thrown into the San Francisco 49ers’ season on Tuesday when news broke that the New York Jets fired head coach Robert Saleh.

Saleh was the 49ers’ defensive coordinator through the 2020 season before the Jets made him their head coach. As the 49ers’ defense has struggled in 2024, there have been some questions about whether new DC Nick Sorensen is up for the task of righting San Francisco’s defensive ship.

Concerns about Sorensen combined with Saleh hitting the free agent market made a potential mid-season reunion between the 49ers and their old DC a popular talking point on social media. Head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about Sorensen on Tuesday in a press conference and gave the defensive coordinator a strong vote of confidence.

“I think Nick’s doing a real good job,” Shanahan said. “I’ve been impressed with him since the beginning. Each week, I like how he handles the defensive staff. I like how they set up the practices and I’ve liked his game plans and I liked how he’s called it. So I’ve been real happy with Nick so far.”

Defensive end Nick Bosa after the 49ers’ 24-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals mentioned that he didn’t think the club made the right in-game adjustments. Shanahan also pushed back on that in his Monday conference call, again backing his most recent DC hire.

While there may be some question marks around Sorensen as he wades into deeper waters in his first season as a coordinator, it’s clear the 49ers aren’t ready to make a dramatic change to their coaching staff. Given some of their roster limitations and injuries on the defensive side, it makes sense that Shanahan wouldn’t want to hit the eject button on the DC just yet.

However, if players continue expressing doubts about Sorensen’s management of the game, the 49ers may try turning to a more trusted voice like Saleh’s if they determine a change is necessary.

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DC Nick Sorensen explains Brandon Staley’s role on coaching staff

49ers DC Nick Sorensen has enjoyed having Brandon Staley on the coaching staff. But what is Staley’s role going to be?

The 49ers interviewed former Chargers head coach Brandon Staley for their defensive coordinator opening this offseason. They hired Staley, but not for the DC job. That went to 49ers defensive pass game specialist Nick Sorensen.

Sorensen is a first-time coordinator while Staley earned a head coaching job because of his time as a defensive coordinator with the Rams. The hires led to some questions about how Staley will fit in a coaching staff that already has a defensive coordinator, but Sorensen on Friday in his first press conference explained what Staley will bring to San Francisco’s defense.

“He has experience as a coordinator, he has experience as a head coach, so he sees things holistically,” Sorensen told reporters. “He knows how to build plans. Just getting him in here and spending extra hours just talking football with him, he’s very bright and is really a humble guy who is smart and knows football. That’s been really awesome and helpful for me.”

The 49ers’ DC went on to explain what Staley’s role would be.

“He’s been helping me overall,” Sorensen said. “He’s been involved with pretty much everything, as far as, ‘here is where we did this’ and I’ve been kind of talking him through how we play certain things, watching things throughout the League and what other teams do. Some of the things that he did, asking would this fit or would it not fit in our defense? And some things I was already familiar with from just watching different defenses.

“You naturally see other defenses do things. He’s been more connected with the DBs and the nickels, but he also has experience elsewhere with defensive ends and outside linebackers. But with the staff that we have, I think for me it’s going to be really helpful that he’s done it before and he’s had success and he’s been a head coach as well. So, like I said, it’s been great.”

One of the reasons the 49ers moved on from DC Steve Wilks after last season was because he never quite got on the same page with his defensive personnel and what the team wanted to do on that side of the ball. Hiring an internal candidate made sense given those issues, but bringing in Staley added a potential variable that could cause an issue.

It sounds like the early portion of Sorensen’s move to defensive coordinator has been aided by having Staley around though. Having that many good defensive minds in the building will ultimately benefit the 49ers as long as the Sorensen-Staley relationship remains as good as it has started.

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49ers assistant head coach Anthony Lynn leaving to join Commanders

Another #49ers assistant is leaving the team.

The 49ers are losing another assistant coach. According to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, 49ers assistant head coach Anthony Lynn is vacating his position with San Francisco to take the run game coordinator job under Dan Quinn with the Washington Commanders.

The run game coordinator job likely gets Lynn further into a spotlight where he could make another run at a head coaching gig. He’s also friends with Quinn according to Schefter.

This is the second time the Commanders have tapped the 49ers to help fill vacancies in their revamped organization. Former 49ers assistant general manager Adam Peters was also hired to run their front office.

San Francisco is also losing offensive passing game specialist Klint Kubiak to the Saints after they hired him to be their offensive coordinator.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Tuesday said he expects all of his assistant coaches to be back, but now at least two are leaving and will need to be replaced this offseason.

49ers make 4 coaching hires official, including defensive coordinator Steve Wilks

The #49ers officially hired 4 new coaches:

The 49ers saw their coaching staff undergo a handful of changes this offseason. On Thursday they officially announced a quartet of coaching hires.

Among those hires were defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, offensive passing game specialist Klint Kubiak, defensive quality control coach Jacob Webster, and coaching operations assistant Max Molz.

Wilks will replace DeMeco Ryans, who took the head coaching job with the Houston Texans. He made his way into the NFL in 2006 as a defensive backs coach with the Bears. This is Wilks’ third time holding a defensive coordinator job in the NFL. He was the Panthers’ DC in 2017, and the Browns’ DC for the 2019 campaign. Wilks began last season as Carolina’s defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach before becoming the interim head coach when Matt Rhule was fired.

Kubiak will replace Bobby Slowik, who went with Ryans to Houston to become the offensive coordinator. This marks the second Kubiak on staff for San Francisco. Klint’s younger brother Klay is an assistant quarterbacks coach. The elder Kubiak landed in the NFL with the Vikings as an offensive quality control coach in 2013.  He spent three years as an offensive assistant with the Broncos from 2016-18, and then moved on to become the Vikings’ QB coach for two years before taking over as their offensive coordinator in 2021. Last season he was back in Denver as a passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

For Webster this marks his first NFL job. He was a graduate assistant who worked with the offense at the University of Wisconsin last year. Prior to that he was a volunteer and a defensive graduate assistant for the University of Missouri. Webster played football collegiately for the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. In four seasons, including a redshirt year, he played in 27 games and posted five catches for 41 yards.

This is also Molz’s first NFL season. He previously served as the director of football operations at Mizzou starting in 2019.

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49ers had DL coach Kris Kocurek involved in Steve Wilks’ interview

Part of Steve Wilks’ interview with the 49ers involved a chat with DL coach Kris Kocurek.

Not only were the 49ers able to retain defensive line coach Kris Kocurek, they used the popular position coach in their interview with Steve Wilks, who is set to be hired as San Francisco’s new defensive coordinator.

Matt Barrows of the Athletic reported Kocurek was with Wilks for part of the interview to ensure the DL coach and potential new coordinator got along personally and with their football philosophies.

The 49ers under Kocurek have had a ton of success in his Wide 9 system that spreads the defensive front out wider than normal. The good news for San Francisco, and perhaps part of the reason Wilks was hired, is Wilks has a long history as a defensive backs coach. It would stand to reason his expertise in that area will allow him to adapt his defense around Kocurek’s talented, productive defensive front.

As long as those two defensive coaches are on the same page, San Francisco should continue having success on that side of the ball with their third new coordinator since 2019.

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49ers announce 14 changes to coaching staff

The #49ers officially announced 14 changes to their coaching staff.

The 49ers on Monday announced 14 additions and changes to their coaching staff. Of those 14 changes there are nine new hires and five title changes for coaches already on staff.

Let’s look at the new coaching staff and some of the offseason departures:

49ers to add Brian Griese as QB coach

The #49ers are adding Brian Griese as their QB coach, which is something.

The 49ers are adding a high-profile name to their coaching staff. Former NFL QB Brian Griese is set to join San Francisco as their quarterbacks coach. ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Seth Wickersham were the first to report the move.

Griese will exit the ESPN Monday Night Football booth to take his first ever coaching job.

Prior to becoming a broadcaster in 2009, Griese was an 11-year NFL veteran who started 83 games for the Broncos, Dolphins, Buccaneers and Bears. He completed 62.7 percent of his throws for 19,440 yards with 119 touchdowns and 99 interceptions.

While Griese has yet to coach at even the college level, there’s some familiarity with him and 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. Griese’s first stint in Tampa Bay came in 2004 and 2005 when Shanahan was there as an offensive quality control coach.

The 49ers lost quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello this offseason when he took on the offensive coordinator job at the University of Kentucky.

There’s some risk here with San Francisco in bringing in an unseasoned QB coach for first-year starter Trey Lance. Griese will play a key role in Lance’s development and acclimation to the starting job.

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49ers QB coach departs for college offensive coordinator job

The #49ers just lost their QB coach.

The 49ers are losing another offensive coach. Per NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero 49ers quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello is leaving San Francisco to take the offensive coordinator job with the University of Kentucky under head coach Mark Stoops.

Scangarello rejoined the 49ers as their QB coach this season after departing in 2019 for the Broncos offensive coordinator job. He held that same position with San Francisco in 2017 and 2018 as well. He was he Broncos OC for one year, then spent a season with the Eagles as a senior offensive assistant.

His replacement will be one of the key hires or promotions for head coach Kyle Shanahan this offseason because finding someone to work with Trey Lance and help aid his development will be crucial to ensuring the club is maximizing the No. 3 overall pick in his first full season as a starter.

Scangarello joins Mike McDaniel, Jon Embree, James Bettcher and Wes Welker as coaches who’ve left the 49ers’ staff this offseason.

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Another 49ers assistant coach leaves, joins Bengals staff

Another member of the #49ers coaching staff departed. That group could look a lot different next season.

James Bettcher’s time in San Francisco didn’t last long. The former Giants and Cardinals defensive coordinator joined the 49ers’ coaching staff last season as a senior defensive assistant last season. Now he’s joining the Bengals as their linebackers coach per a team announcement.

Bettcher brought five seasons of defensive coordinator experience to first-time defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans’ staff. He spent 2015-17 with the Cardinals in the DC role, then the next two years in that position for the Giants. Prior to that he was an outside linebackers coach in Arizona and Indianapolis.

He’s just another departure from a 49ers coaching staff that’ll look different next season. Offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel took the head coaching job in Miami. He was joined by wide receivers coach Wes Welker and tight ends coach Jon Embree.

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