SANTA CLARA, Calif. — After a deliberate search involving internal and external candidates, the San Francisco 49ers have their new defensive coordinator. And that's not the only important addition to the team's coaching staff.
Sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeremy Fowler on Saturday that the Niners are promoting Nick Sorensen, the team's defensive passing game specialist and nickel cornerbacks coach, to defensive coordinator, a position left open after the firing. by Steve Wilks on February 14. The team is also expected to hire former Los Angeles Chargers coach Brandon Staley as assistant head coach, sources said.
At the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis this week, 49ers general manager John Lynch said the team was “in no rush” to hire a coordinator, but reiterated what coach Kyle Shanahan said when he announced the Wilks' dismissal: that San Francisco did not want to deviate. far from what he has done defensively over the last seven years.
“We know who we are, who we're going to be, and that's not going to be a total schematic change,” Lynch said. “We feel good about where we are.”
Lynch's words seemed to point to the likelihood of an internal hire given that one of the reasons Shanahan left Wilks was his struggle to adapt to the defensive scheme San Francisco had used in previous years under former coordinators Robert Saleh and DeMeco Ryans.
In Sorensen, the Niners should be able to retain the continuity that Shanahan and Lynch have sought. Although this will be Sorensen's first time as a coordinator, he has been with the Niners since 2022 when he joined the staff as a defensive assistant. In his second season, he was promoted to defensive passing game specialist and put in charge of the Nickelbacks.
Sorensen's previous duties with the Niners included leading the team's weekly meeting called “The Ball,” which places an emphasis on winning the turnover battle.
Prior to his arrival in San Francisco, Sorensen spent the 2021 season as the Jacksonville Jaguars' special teams coach. Before that, Sorensen was an assistant special teams coach, assistant defensive backs coach and secondary coach for eight years (2013-20) with the Seattle Seahawks.
Sorensen's history working with Pete Carroll in Seattle was perhaps more valuable considering the Niners run a version of that defensive scheme, which centers around a front-four attack combined with more zone coverage on the back end.
In Staley, the 49ers are adding another experienced voice to their staff. As assistant head coach, Staley would replace Anthony Lynn, who left San Francisco after two seasons to become the running game coordinator and running backs coach for the Washington Commanders.
Staley spent the last two seasons as the Chargers' coach, but before that he was the Los Angeles Rams' defensive coordinator in 2020 and had previously worked as an outside linebackers coach for the Chicago Bears (2017-18) and Denver Broncos (2019).
While Staley's defensive background is different from what the Niners do schematically, Lynch said in Indianapolis that wouldn't preclude Staley from being a potential addition to the staff.
“He's a really brilliant guy,” Lynch said. “We have an open mind, but we know there are certain basic principles that we will always be on the defensive end… I wouldn't rule it out because of that.”
Along with Sorensen, Staley was one of five known interviewees for the defensive coordinator position. The Niners also spoke with secondary coach Daniel Bullocks, Kansas City Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt and Las Vegas Raiders safeties coach Gerald Alexander.
