SANTA CLARA — Season No. 9 for 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan comes with his staff’s most significant overhaul.
New coordinators are in place: Robert Saleh returns to the defense after three-plus seasons as the New York Jets coach, Brant Boyer leaves his post with the Jets to oversee the 49ers’ troubled special teams, and Klay Kubiak gets promoted on offense, where plays still will be called by Shanahan.
In a surprise, Brian Griese has been replaced after three years as quarterbacks coach by Mick Lombardi, who returned to Shanahan’s staff a year ago as a senior offensive assistant.
Griese has been a staunch advocate and mentor of Brock Purdy since his 2022 arrival as the NFL Draft’s last pick. Shanahan also interviewed D.J. Williams for quarterbacks coach, a role he’s now in with the Atlanta Falcons.
With Shanahan absent from the NFL scouting combine for a fifth straight year, general manager John Lynch is expected to address Griese’s status and other changes when meeting with reporters Wednesday in Indianapolis. Lynch’s son, Jake, was hired onto Shanahan’s staff as a defensive quality control coach after spending last season as a Washington graduate assistant.
Gus Bradley, most recently the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive coordinator, will carry the title of assistant head coach/defense under Saleh. Chris Foerster will add the title of assistant head coach/offense to his duties as offensive line coach.
Other changes to the staff: Ray Brown (defensive backs/cornerbacks), Ronald Blair III (special teams quality control), Colt Anderson (special teams assistant), Joe Graves (offensive assistant/quarterbacks), Leonard Hankerson (wide receivers, plus pass-game specialist), Andrew Hayes-Stoker (offensive assistant/wide receivers), Greg Scruggs (assistant defensive line), Jacob Webster (offensive quality control) and Patrick Hagedorn (chief of staff, football).
Although Shanahan prematurely announced Kubiak’s promotion at his season wrapup press conference last month, the league’s minority-hiring guidelines were satisfied with Shanahan’s subsequent interviews with Noah Pauley of Iowa State and Junior Adams, a former Amador Valley High-Pleasanton product who’s since been hired as the Dallas Cowboys wide receivers coach.
Only three coaches in the NFL have held their job longer than Shanahan: Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers, 18 years), John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens, 17 years), and Andy Reid (Kansas City Chiefs, 12 years).
Here is a list of coaching and front office moves around the NFL heading into next season, which culminates with Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium:
HEAD COACH
Seven teams hired a new head coach, including three on the 49ers’ 2025 schedule: the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Chicago Bears, and the New Orleans Saints. Those hires:
Chicago Bears: Ben Johnson
Dallas Cowboys: Brian Schottenheimer
Jacksonville Jaguars: Liam Coen
Las Vegas Raiders: Pete Carroll
New England Patriots: Mike Vrabel
New Orleans Saints: Kellen Moore
New York Jets: Aaron Glenn
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
For the first time since Mike McDaniel was in this role in 2021, Shanahan officially designated an offensive coordinator. In all, 14 teams changed offensive coordinators:
49ers: Klay Kubiak.
Chicago Bears: Declan Doyle
Cleveland Browns: Tommy Dorsey
Dallas Cowboys: Clayton Adams
Detroit Lions: John Morton
Houston Texans: Nick Caley
Jacksonville Jaguars: Grant Udisnki
Las Vegas Raiders: Chip Kelly
New Orleans Saints: Doug Nussmeier
New York Jets: Tanner Engstrand
New England Patriots: Josh McDaniels
Philadelphia Eagles: Kevin Patullo
Seattle Seahawks: Klint Kubiak
Tampa Bay Bucs: Josh Grizzard
DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
For the fourth time in five years, Shanahan sought a new defensive coordinator, and he circled back to his original one from 2017-20: Saleh, who went on to coach the New York Jets up through five games this past season. The final defensive coordinator hired was the New Orleans Saints’ Brandon Staley, who spent last season as the 49ers’ assistant head coach who worked under then-defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen:
49ers: Robert Saleh
Atlanta Falcons: Jeff Ulbrich
Chicago Bears: Dennis Allen
Cincinnati Bengals: Al Golden
Dallas Cowboys: Matt Eberflus
Detroit Lions: Kelvin Sheppard
Indianapolis Colts: Lou Anarumo
Jacksonville Jaguars: Anthony Campanile
Las Vegas Raiders: Patrick Graham
New England Patriots: Terrell Williams
New Orleans Saints: Brandon Staley
New York Jets: Steve Wilks
SPECIAL TEAMS
Insisting at season’s end that he knows how important special teams are, Shanahan hired New York Jets long-time coordinator Brant Boyer to rectify widespread issues. Sorensen, the 49ers’ defensive coordinator last season, is now the Cowboys’ special teams coordinator. Those hired:
49ers: Brant Boyer
Buffalo Bills: Chris Tabor
Dallas Cowboys: Nick Sorensen
Denver Broncos: Darren Rizzi
Miami Dolphins: Craig Aukerman
New York Jets: Chris Banjo
New Orleans Saints: Phil Galiano
Tennessee Titans: John Fassel
Related Articles
NFL scouting combine: 10 topics related to 49ers, including Bosa brothers
Civil rights icon Harry Edwards to join Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame alongside Alex Morgan, Joe Rudi and others
49ers secure potential starter for offensive line: Ben Bartch
Former 49ers linebacker Michael Wilhoite accused of punching cop at Denver airport drop-off lane, court records show
Overturned rape conviction of former 49ers star was county’s first reversal under the Racial Justice Act. Why did it take so long?
GENERAL MANAGER
Jacksonville Jaguars: James Gladstone
New York Jets: Darren Mougey
Las Vegas Raiders: John Spytek
Tennessee Titans: Mike Borgonzi
