2025 will be the second consecutive offseason where the San Francisco 49ers will conduct a search for a new defensive coordinator.
It will also be the second consecutive offseason they’ll interview former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley for the position. Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Wednesday in a press conference told reporters Staley would be one of the internal candidates San Francisco considers as they aim to replace the recently-fired Nick Sorensen.
Staley didn’t land the 49ers’ DC job last season, but his interview went well enough that he wound up as an assistant head coach. It’s unclear how much influence he had on San Francisco’s defense in 2024, but given that Sorensen was let go and Staley is getting an interview, it stands to reason his voice wasn’t prominent enough to have an adverse impact on his prospects of landing the DC gig.
Prior to becoming the Chargers’ head coach, Staley was the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams in 2020. That season LA finished No. 1 in both yards and points allowed en route to divisional round loss to the Green Bay Packers.
His defensive success didn’t translate to his tenure as a head coach where the Chargers finished no higher than 20th in yards allowed and no higher than 21st in points allowed across his three seasons in charge.
A move to Staley as the DC would spark a significant change in the 49ers’ scheme. Under head coach Kyle Shanahan the 49ers have reliably run a 4-3 base defense in the Pete Carroll vein. Staley’s background uses a 3-4 base after he came up in the NFL under former 49ers defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Perhaps that’s the kind of change San Francisco wants to undergo in the offseason, but it would make more sense if they aimed for a coach like Robert Saleh or Jeff Ulbrich who would provide a less dramatic shift on that side of the ball.