The San Francisco 49ers announced their first completed interview in their search for a new special teams coordinator on Sunday, confirming they had interviewed Jett Modkins.

San Francisco fired special teams coordinator Brian Schneider last week following a dreadful 2024 season that saw the 49ers rank 31st in DVOA in that part of the game.

There has been talk of Nick Sorensen, relieved of his defensive coordinators after one season, staying on staff to serve as special teams coordinator.

But that would be an underwhelming attempt to fix a crucial problem that cost the 49ers games in 2024 as they slumped to a 6-11 record. An interview with Modkins is a more promising step.

Modkins is in his fourth season as the Detroit Lions' assistant special teams coordinator, helping with a unit that has been among the best in the league of late. He is the son of Curtis Modkins, who was the 49ers offensive coordinator in 2016.

Detroit ranked first in special teams DVOA in the 2024 regular season, the Lions' performance in that area of the game in stark contrast to what the 49ers produced as they slumped to a 6-11 season.

A failure to execute consistently on special teams was a key reason why the 49ers endured their first losing season since 2020.

Moving Sorensen across from the defensive coordinator role would be the easy way to address the problem. An interview with Modkins points to a more expansive search, with San Francisco looking in the right areas in their attempts to turn special teams from a weakness into a strength.

Reported frontrunner for vacant 49ers coaching position sees his involvement in 2024 season come to an end

His focus now switches back to his coaching future.