49ers Making Significant Change to Coaching Staff After Disappointing 6–11 Season

The defensive staff is getting an overhaul.

San Francisco 49ers defensive passing game specialist coach Nick Sorensen against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Changes are coming to the San Francisco 49ers coaching staff after the club's disappointing 6–11 finish to the 2024 season.

The 49ers will look for a new defensive coordinator after relieving Nick Sorensen of those duties, Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports. Coach Kyle Shanahan and the franchise will try and retain Sorensen in another role. The move comes after special teams coordinator Brian Schneider was fired earlier Tuesday.

San Francisco was eighth in the NFL in yards allowed per game (317.4) but struggled to hold teams out of the end zone, allowing 25.6 points per game—the fourth worst mark in the NFL. The team was near the bottom of the NFL with just 17 takeaways on the season, and had a -10 turnover margin.

The 49ers will have a new defensive coordinator for the third consecutive season, after losing DeMeco Ryans (now the Houston Texans head coach) following 2022 and firing Steve Wilks after '23, despite San Francisco reaching the Super Bowl.

Sorensen joined the staff as a defensive assistant for the '22 season, elevating to defensive pass game specialist and nickelbacks coach in '23.

There are plenty of veteran defensive coaches available for the 49ers, who will look to get right back to Super Bowl contention next season. Former New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh was the team's DC from 2017 to '20. The interim coach who replaced him, Jeff Ulbrich, is a former 49ers linebacker who coached with Shanahan with the Atlanta Falcons. Dennis Allen, Matt Eberflus and Jerod Mayo are among the defense-minded coaches let go from head coaching positions in recent weeks.

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