The San Francisco 49ers appear to have found their replacement for former quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello, who left earlier this offseason to take over the Denver Broncos' offensive coordinator position.
According to a report from NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco, the Niners are bringing aboard Shane Day to fill the void. Day spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons as tight end coach for the Miami Dolphins, and he also spent tenures at the pro level with the Chicago Bears and Washington Redskins as an assistant. Day previously worked for the 49ers as a quality control coach between 2007 and 2009.
The #49ers are hiring Shane Day as QBs coach to replace Rich Scangarello, league source says. Day was Dolphins TEs coach the past three seasons. He was SF offensive quality control coach 2007-09.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) January 28, 2019
Between 2012 and 2013, Day worked at the collegiate level as UConn's quarterbacks coach, even calling plays during the latter half of his second season there.
This, per the Dolphins' team page:
Prior to Washington, Day was the quarterbacks coach at Connecticut for two seasons (2012-13). In 2013, he took over play-calling duties after an 0-9 start and helped the Huskies close the season on a three-game winning streak as the team passed for seven touchdowns and only one interception.
Day coached quarterbacks for the Chicago Bears from 2010-11. In his first season, Day helped quarterback Jay Cutler post the second-highest passer rating (86.3) at that point of his career as an NFL starter. The Bears went 11-5 and won the NFC North, advancing to the NFC Championship game that season.
Day's work with offensive lines, tight ends and quarterbacks should provide an ample bit of support to head coach Kyle Shanahan, who got the most out of quarterback Nick Mullens in 2018 -- a player to whom Scangarello was closely linked who thrived under the quarterbacks coach.
Mullens' rapport with Day will be something to watch during offseason activities, especially with starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo still going through the recovery process after tearing his ACL early in the 2018 season. Day will oversee a lot of the competition between Mullens and fellow backup quarterback C.J. Beathard during training camp.
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Written by:Peter Panacy has been writing about the 49ers since 2011 for outlets like Bleacher Report, Niner Noise, 49ers Webzone, and is occasionally heard as a guest on San Francisco's 95.7 FM The Game and the Niners' flagship station, KNBR 680. Feel free to follow him, or direct any inquiries to his Twitter account.