Where 49ers Defensive Coordinator Nick Sorensen Will Call Plays at

49ers defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen will not be making the same mistake as his predecessor did now that he is the play caller.

May 10, 2024; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen holds a / Robert Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports

One of the most hilarious and ridiculous criticisms of former defensive coordinator Steve Wilks in 2023 was his location on game day.

There was a notion that because he was calling plays in the booth, a totally normal thing coaches do, that it was causing deficiencies on the 49ers defense. Wilks would make a midseason switch from the booth to the sidelines when the 49ers came out of their Bye week.

Nick Sorensen is now the defensive coordinator for the 49ers, so of course there is intrigue as to where he will be calling plays. For the first time since he was promoted, Sorensen spoke to the media on Friday where he revealed his plans on where he will call plays in 2024.

"I'll be on the field," said Sorensen. "I like being on the field. I was a player, and it feels good to be on the field and I want to look to players in the eyes and talk to them and I feel like that'll be the right thing."

One thing that was clear last year that was true about Wilks calling plays in the booth is he didn't get to have that interpersonal communication with his players. The defensive players have remained relatively the same since Robert Saleh was the play caller. And since Saleh, the defense has been accustomed to their coordinator being on the sideline to communicate with.

Wilks broke that streak. In hindsight, he should've been on the sideline. Not because it did anything to improve the defense, but because he was an outsider. He needed to conform to what the players were used to. Sorensen is not an outsider. He's been with the 49ers since 2022, so he knows what it looks like to have the full respect of the players.

That is why he plans to be on the sideline and to avoid any ridiculous notion that it has anything to do with the scheme.