Sources – 49ers to promote Sorensen to DC, add Staley to staff،
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 were promoting Nick Sorensen, the team's defensive passing game specialist and nickel cornerbacks coach, to defensive coordinator, a role that was open after the dismissal of 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 meeting in Indianapolis this week, 49ers general manager John Lynch said the team is “in no rush” to hire a coordinator, but reiterated what coach Kyle Shanahan said when he announced Wilks' firing that San Francisco didn't want to walk away. a far cry from what he has done defensively over the last seven years.
“We know who we are, who we're going to be, and it's not going to cause an overall schematic change,” Lynch said. “We feel good about where we are.”
Lynch's comments seemed to indicate the likelihood of an internal hire given that one of the reasons Shanahan left Wilks was his difficulties adjusting to the defensive system San Francisco had used in previous years under previous coordinators Robert Saleh and DeMeco Ryans.
In Sorensen, the Niners should be able to maintain the continuity Shanahan and Lynch are looking for. Although this is Sorensen's first time serving as 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 specialist in the defensive passing game and in charge of the nickelbacks.
Sorensen's previous duties with the Niners included leading the team's weekly meeting called “The Ball,” which focuses on winning the turnover battle.
Prior to his arrival in San Francisco, Sorensen spent the 2021 season as the special teams coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Prior to that, Sorensen served as an assistant special teams coach, assistant defensive backs coach and secondary coach for eight years (2013-20) with the Seattle Seahawks.
Sorensen's story working with Pete Carroll in Seattle was perhaps the most valuable given that the Niners run a version of this defensive scheme, which focuses on a four-man offensive front paired with primarily zone coverage at the back.
In Staley, the 49ers add another experienced voice to their team. As assistant head coach, Staley would replace Anthony Lynn, who left San Francisco after two seasons to become running game coordinator and running backs coach for the Washington Commanders.
Staley spent more than two seasons as the Chargers' coach, but before that he was the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams in 2020 and previously worked as the outside linebackers coach for the Chicago Bears (2017-18) and Denver Broncos (2019).
Although Staley's defensive path is different than 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 some fundamental principles that we will always be on the defensive side. … I wouldn't rule it out for that reason.”
Along with Sorensen, Staley was one of five known interviews 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.
