The San Francisco 49ers are rumored to have a new defensive coordinator. Nick Sorensen, coach of the Nickles and defensive passing game specialist, will take over as defensive coordinator for the 49ers after Steve Wilks served in the position for one season.
The 49ers have elevated Sorensen to a senior staff position and named former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley to a “prominent staff role,” per Schefter and Fowler. The 49ers interviewed Staley to be their candidate for defensive coordinator. Prior to leading the Chargers as head coach, Staley was the Los Angeles Rams’ defensive coordinator under Sean McVay.
The rumored hiring of Staley and the elevation of Sorensen infuriated the NFL community. Here’s what commentators and supporters were saying on social media early on Saturday morning.
“Two major hires in San Francisco: sources tell me that the 49ers plan to name defensive passing game specialist Nick Sorensen as their new defensive coordinator, and they plan to promote former Chargers head coach Brandon Staley to a prominent staff position, possibly assistant head coach.”
“Another fan states that Brandon Staley was once an NFL defensive coordinator.” He had the best defense of any 2020 Rams player. His mentor is former 49ers DC Vic Fangio. Staley defeated Kyle Shanahan with his game plans against the best opposing offenses, including the 49ers, in 2022. The 49ers have appointed two former Charger head coaches to assistant head coach positions. Kyle Shanahan developed the team’s run game during the course of the previous two seasons as AHC, collaborating with Anthony Lynn, who left for the Commanders. Brandon Staley will most likely win that championship to help the defense.”
However, another person asks, “So why is Staley the DC? Why do we have two voices? Saleh also got better over time, even though he took on a new role that required him to rebuild the team. The DeMecos are uncommon, and even then, they were retooling with Lance. This squad is winning more games right now.”
“It is intriguing that the 49ers (Nick Sorensen, Asauni Rufus, and now Stephen Adegoke) are stacking their defensive assistant roster with DB backgrounds,” said an additional commenter. It makes perfect sense to fill important roles on the coaching staff with young, talented coaches.”
