The San Francisco 49ers are on their third defensive coordinator in as many seasons, and their latest hire is a former Seattle Seahawks assistant.
Following the firing of Steve Wilks after their latest Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the 49ers are promoting Nick Sorensen from pass game coordinator to the big DC role. They’ll also be adding former Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator and ex-Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley to the staff, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jeremy Fowler.
Sorensen has been with the 49ers since 2022, initially brought on as a defensive assistant before he became the pass game specialist and nickel cornerbacks coach. This is the first time he’s ever been a defensive coordinator.
After a decade in the NFL as a defensive back and special teams contributor, Sorensen began his coaching career with Pete Carroll’s Seattle Seahawks. He won a Super Bowl in 2013 as an assistant special teams coach to Brian Schneider, who’s the current 49ers ST coordinator. Sorensen switched to assistant defensive backs coach in 2016, then moved to coaching the secondary from 2017 until 2020. He was Urban Meyer’s special teams coordinator in his one season with the Jacksonville Jaguars, taking over from Schneider after he stepped away for personal reasons.
This is the second time that Kyle Shanahan has chosen a former Pete Carroll assistant as his defensive coordinator. His first DC was former Seahawks defensive quality control coach Robert Saleh, whom after leaving Seattle had a stint with… the Jacksonville Jaguars.
