What Nick Sorensen and Brandon Staley Bring to 49ers After Reported Hirings – NBC Sports Bay Area and California

Nick Sorensen and Brandon Staley were the first to interview with coach Kyle Shanahan for the 49ers defensive coordinator job.

Clearly, Shanahan was duly impressed. He reportedly plans to hire both.

Sorensen, 45, will be promoted to defensive coordinator after two years as a 49ers assistant, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The coordinator position became open when Shanahan fired Steve Wilks three days after the 49ers' Super Bowl LVIII loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Sorensen, Who played 10 NFL seasons As the safety, he will work closely with Staley, the former Los Angeles Chargers coach. Staley, 41, will reportedly join the 49ers staff as an assistant coach.

The takeaways for the 49ers have soared over the past two seasons with Sorensen on the staff. He was tasked with coming up with ways to emphasize generating turnovers, and the 49ers excelled in that area, with 42 interceptions while surrendering just 40 touchdown passes.

Staley met with Shanahan and 49ers general manager John Lynch and had a great interview. Shanahan and Lynch first spent time with Staley in August 2021, when the 49ers and Chargers met in Costa Mesa for a few days of joint practices leading up to a preseason game.

Shanahan and Lynch were impressed by Staley's knowledge of the game and his way of getting his point across. After three seasons as the Chargers' head coach, Staley will also work closely with Shanahan in all areas.

Former 49ers assistant coach Anthony Lynn, He was appointed last month to join Dan Quinn's staff with the Washington Commanders as run game coordinator.

After participating in interviews in Santa Clara, Lynch traveled to Indianapolis to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine this week. He explained what the 49ers were looking for from their new defensive coordinator.

“We love who we are and what we do as a defense,” Lynch said Tuesday. “I don't think we want to move away from that in general. We like the style we play in, attacking with four men.

“However, I think you always have to evolve and look at an opportunity like this to look at different ways in which we can evolve. A lot of times, a lot of these ideas come up in these interviews.

Staley worked under former 49ers defensive coordinator Vic Fangio on his staffs in Chicago and Denver. The Rams hired Staley as defensive coordinator in 2020. He remained there for one season before landing the Chargers' head coaching job. Staley compiled a 24-25 record in three seasons, including 0-1 in the playoffs.

Sorensen's promotion from the 49ers' passing game/nickelbacks coach ended a 17-day search for a new defensive coordinator. The 49ers also interviewed defensive backs coach Daniel Bullocks, Kansas City Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt and Las Vegas safeties coach Gerald Alexander for the position.

Sorensen became defensive coordinator for the first time. He was hired by the 49ers as a defensive assistant in 2022 and earned a promotion to defensive passing game/nickel linebackers coach last season.

Sorensen appeared in 134 games over 10 NFL seasons with the St. Louis Rams, Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns. He served as a reserve contributor on safety and special teams.

He comes to the 49ers after spending one season as special teams coordinator in Jacksonville.

Sorensen began his NFL coaching career in 2013 with eight seasons in Seattle on Pete Carroll's staff. He started as a special teams assistant, then moved to secondary coach (2017-19) and secondary coach/nickel specialist in 2020. He worked under defensive coordinators Kris Richard and Ken Norton with the Seahawks.

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