The San Francisco 49ers wanted to hire one of the NFL's best coaches but couldn't make it happen
The San Francisco 49ers filled its defensive coordinator void by promoting defensive passing game specialist Nick Sorensen and the team even went as far as to add former Los Angeles Chargers head coach and Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator, Brandon Staley, as asstitant head coach.Both coaches have good reputations in the context of assistant roles, […]
The San Francisco 49ers filled its defensive coordinator void by promoting defensive passing game specialist Nick Sorensen and the team even went as far as to add former Los Angeles Chargers head coach and Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator, Brandon Staley, as asstitant head coach.
Both coaches have good reputations in the context of assistant roles, but according to The Athletic's Diana Russini, the 49ers were trying to nab Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo, before making the latest moves.
Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has received a huge amount of praise for his coaching performances that helped the Chiefs win another title. Though he recently signed a new contract to stay with the Chiefs, the 49ers were trying to land him, according to a league source. – Diana Russini, The Athletic
Spagnuolo in San Fran would've guaranteed another Super Bowl trip, at minimum
Talk about a potential coaching duo for the ages if this happened. Kyle Shanahan is one of the top offensive minds in the league and Spags stamped his official claim as the NFL's top defensive mind this past season.
When considering how he calls and designs game plans, combined with the talent on the defensive side of the ball – there is zero doubt the 49ers would be the NFL's best, barring injuries, of course.
Sorensen has been with the 49ers since 2022, but cut his teeth under Pete Carroll in Seattle. The key with that is Carroll was Robert Saleh's mentor, who then coached up DeMeco Ryans. Meaning, Sorensen is familiar and has good knowledge of what the 49ers want to do on defense. Therefore, it's not like the 49ers would be implementing a whole new scheme.
Then, there's the addition of Staley, who is a very good defensive mind in his own right. Although, it's fair to wonder how much success he would've had in 2020 without Jalen Ramsey and Aaron Donald on the roster. Regardless, he made the unit an elite one and his input should come in handy over the next several months.
Spags, on the other hand, would've brought in a new scheme that would've also required a learning curve, but that price would've certainly been worth the return on investment that would've come with the addition of the four-time Super Bowl champ.
