Following the dismissal of Steve Wilks, Brandon Staley interviewed for the San Francisco 49ers' vacant defensive coordinator job. Opting to go with internal candidate Nick Sorenson allowed the team to maintain continuity while entrusting the defense to a play-caller very familiar with the scheme the 49ers want to deploy.
Sorenson previously worked with former defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans and served as an assistant with the Seattle Seahawks, so that familiarity gave him the edge.
Where did that leave Staley? The 49ers hired him, too. However, Staley won't serve as the team's defensive coordinator. Right now, he has the title of assistant head coach. He will be heavily involved in game-day planning.
Speaking to reporters at the NFL owners meetings, head coach Kyle Shanahan explained the expectations for Sorenson and Staley this season.
"Nick's going to call the plays," Shanahan said. "That's the main job of a defense coordinator, is calling the defense. [Brandon] will be a huge part of game planning and doing everything on that side of the ball and helping me out in other areas. ... Brandon will be a big part of the game plans.
"I'm implementing a lot of our defense here in the offseason, and during the [season], each week, preparing for teams. He's been a big part of free agency already, helping us with the draft, and will be a huge asset to our whole coaching staff."
The 49ers didn't want a repeat of last season, hiring a defensive coordinator whose roots are entrenched in a different scheme, forcing him to adapt to their own. However, Staley impressed enough during the interview process for Shanahan to realize that he could still be a valuable asset this season.
"Really, what we wanted to do was get back to who we are as a defense, like our style of defense," general manager John Lynch said on Monday. "Nick Sorenson had a great vision for how we could do that. But you also want to consistently evolve, much like we did early with the Wide-9."
The 49ers believe the addition of Staley will allow that evolution to continue, with the former Los Angeles Chargers head coach voicing his opinion on certain aspects of the defense while maintaining the integrity of what the team has built over the years.
"Brandon's a really intelligent guy," Lynch continued. "We scrimmaged against him a couple of years ago, and Kyle and I just spent a lot of time talking and appreciating his mind for the game. He's well-regarded throughout our league. Having a guy with a head coach mindset, even in the free agent meetings, the personnel side of it, he's real sharp there."
Shanahan praised the wealth of knowledge and experience Staley brings to the coaching staff, believing the team will benefit from it during the upcoming season. For now, everything is in the early stages of development, given the 49ers are transitioning to their third defensive coordinator in as many years.
The head coach shared, "Once we start practicing, going through OTAs, to have another guy's expertise, who knows a lot of ball, he's run a number of schemes, and happy to have him be part of ours."
Shanahan is grateful the 49ers were able to find a role for Staley, commenting, "I was just pumped to be able to have the chance to get Brandon. I know we looked into him for the coordinator role, but I was really wanting to stay in-house and keep it kind of with what we had done, similar in the past, with our scheme. And being able to add Brandon and get him on board, it was huge."
Lynch added, "So I think it's a great add for us, and that defensive staff is really meshing extremely well, and excited for where that's going to go. Now we've got to go do it and put it all together. But I think Brandon was a nice add for our building."
