Three Defensive Coordinators the 49ers Must Avoid Hiring

Under no circumstance must the 49ers hire any of these coaches to be their next defensive coordinator.

It has been about a week since the San Francisco 49ers cut ties with Nick Sorensen as defensive coordinator.

Since then, the 49ers have undergone interviews with only two candidates. One was with former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh and Detroit Lions defensive backs coach Deshea Townsend. No other candidate has been reported yet. The 49ers will probably still look to interview more candidates. If they do, these are the three defensive coordinators they must avoid hiring.

Brandon Staley

I cannot stress this enough. The 49ers must avoid Brandon Staley at all cost. Kyle Shanahan said at exit press conference that Staley will be interviewed for the defensive coordinator vacancy. He’s likely doing that to hear him out and give him a chance. Still, it must be nothing more than that.

Keep Staley away from the job. He is not the right coach for it. If Staley wants to be a coordinator, he should look elsewhere. Keep him in his role, whatever that is because it’s unclear what he actually does on the 49ers, the same. He’s just an unserious coach to go against and to play for. Thanks, but no thanks Staley. Stay in your lane.

Gus Bradley

Gus Bradley could be a coordinator of interest to the 49ers. He was someone who Shanahan looked into when he first became head coach. Bradley is a free agent after the Colts cut ties with him. He spent three years in Indianapolis and not single a season was impressive, especially this past one.

The Colts defense was similar or worse than the 49ers. They allowed the fourth most yards per game (361.2), the ninth most points per game (25.1), and a half point less than the 49ers, the third most rushes of 10+ yards (68), and the 10th worst team sack rate (5.9 percent) in the NFL.

How does hiring Bradley help the 49ers? It doesn’t. At least the 49ers have the excuse of Sorensen being a rookie and operating with a significant lack of talent. Bradley was intriguing in 2017, but never again. Stay away from him.

Rookie coordinators

49ers don’t have time to allow a rookie coordinator to develop on the job. They tried that with Sorensen and it failed. Now, maybe it can work with another coach who ends up passing with flying colors like DeMeco Ryans did in 2021. However, the 49ers set a precedent that they are not willing to wait on a coach to grow.

“I think having the experience of going through this before, building things before, I think is definitely a bonus for me,” said Kyle Shanahan on desiring an experienced coordinator. “It helps me with some stuff. So that’s stuff I will look into. But again, you always, regardless, you don’t want to put just any handcuffs on your decision.”

I also doubt the star players on the defense can get behind someone calling plays for the first time in their career. It only worked with Sorensen because he had been on staff for several seasons already. He had that trust and familiarity with the players established. Anyone else will be met with an eyebrow raise. It has to be a coordinator with tenure and proven success.