Head coach Kyle Shanahan and defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen, left, of the San Francisco 49ers, observe players at the NFL football team’s rookie minicamp on Friday, May 10, 2024, in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Jeff Chiu/AP)

California’s Santa Clara (AP) The effort of the San Francisco 49ers to hire an outside defensive coordinator, Steve Wilks, was unsuccessful, as the organization fired Wilks after just one season.

After the Niners took a slight step backwards in their defensive performance last season, they are now depending on Nick Sorensen’s internal promotion to that position and some outside insight from former Chargers head coach Brandon Staley.

“We all want to win, we all want to play great defense, and that’s the expectation,” Sorensen stated on Friday in his first speech to the media since joining the team earlier in the offseason. But I already possess that. Both our players and coaches do. Regarding what has been mentioned, I’m not too concerned. All I know is what I want done and what we want done.

The 49ers failed to live up to the expectations set by previous coordinators Robert Saleh and DeMeco Ryans during their first season under Wilks. This was particularly evident during the playoffs, when they were flattened on the ground by Green Bay and Detroit before faltering late in a Super Bowl loss to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Under Ryans, the Niners finished first in the majority of important measures in 2022. They finished third in points allowed and tenth in more complex efficiency measurements, such as Expected Points Added, during Wilks’s previous season.

The decision was made to make a change because Wilks found it difficult to adjust to the system that head coach Kyle Shanahan intended to employ, and the defense struggled all season against the run and lost in the postseason.

As a result, Sorensen was promoted, making the transition from his position as a passing game specialist to the head of the defense for the first time in his coaching career.

When Johnny Holland was absent due to cancer in 2022, Sorensen first worked with linebackers as a defensive assistant for San Francisco. During his tenure in San Francisco, Sorensen has also facilitated weekly sessions with the goal of generating takeaways and reducing turnovers.

In 2021, Sorensen was hired as a special teams coach in Jacksonville. He also worked as an assistant for the secondary and special teams for eight seasons in Seattle, where the Seahawks employed a defensive scheme that was comparable to that of the 49ers.

“His familiarity with the system and his background in it are advantages,” stated All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner. We simply need to improve upon the principles and methods of what we do in addition to making some adjustments because we have been doing the same thing for a very long time. Teams are aware of what we’re doing. That is not something we fear. However, certain adjustments are necessary to ensure that we are changing things up a little bit, and Nick is going to do a fantastic job, in my opinion.

A significant addition to the defensive staff was made by Shanahan when he appointed Staley as a defensive assistant. Prior to being sacked in December of last year, Staley had three less successful seasons as the Chargers’ coach and had been coordinator for the Rams for one season in 2020, at which time they had the league’s best defense.

With the Niners, Staley plays a more ambiguous role as a resource for an inexperienced coordinator rather than being in charge of a single position group or the defense as a whole.

Regarding Staley’s job, Sorensen remarked, “It’s more holistic.” He has generally been helpful to me. He’s been part of almost everything, from “This is where we did this,” to “watching things throughout the league and what other teams do.” I’ve been kind of guiding him through how we play specific things. Among the things he accomplished, “Would this fit or would it not fit in our defense?” was one of his questions. Although he has closer ties to the nickels and DBs, he has also worked with outside linebackers and defensive ends in other contexts. However, given our staff, I believe it will be really beneficial that he has experience doing this, has achieved success, and has also served as a head coach.

According to Sorensen, Staley’s impact might aid the 49ers’ defense in developing, but the team will always be judged by its ability to play fast and effectively as an attacking defense.

We constantly strive to advance in particular directions. I believe that there are aspects of the league that make you wonder, “Will this work? “Will it not?” he questioned. “But we will continue to do that as our main course of action.”