Johnny Holland, 49ers linebackers coach
Holland arrived with Shanahan in 2017 and he’s the only defensive assistant who’s been in San Francisco through the Robert Saleh, DeMeco Ryans and Wilks defensive regimes. That is, he knows how the system works, and as a linebackers coach and former linebacker, he’d be a good bridge between the back and front ends of the defense. Holland, however, also has been dealing with multiple myeloma and had to take time away from the team in 2021. He’s been back in a full-time role for the past two seasons.
Chris Kiffin, Houston Texans linebackers coach
Kiffin checks two big boxes. He spent two seasons in San Francisco (2018 and 2019) and he coaches linebackers. He also advocated for one of the players he coached in college,
Azeez Al-Shaair, as an undrafted free agent in 2019 (it turned out to be a steal) and worked with Kris Kocurek and the defensive line during his time in San Francisco. He spent 2023 helping Ryans run a similar defense in Houston.
Kris Kocurek, 49ers defensive line coach
He’s the most prominent, cherished — and perhaps well-paid — assistant on Shanahan’s staff. If Wilks didn’t work out because he was too focused on the back end of the defense, in Kocurek the 49ers would have a coordinator who specializes in the other end. The hitch: Defensive line coaches often prefer to be just that — defensive line coaches. “I know what Kris majors in,” Shanahan said Wednesday. “I know what he loves to do. His passion is D-line. He doesn’t go outside of that a lot. But Kris is a hell of a coach and he’s capable of doing a lot.”
Marquand Manuel, New York Jets safeties coach
Manuel ran the Atlanta Falcons’ defense from 2017 to 2018 and before that was a
Falcons assistant at the same time Shanahan was in Atlanta. More than that, Manuel is a Carroll disciple who got his first coaching job with the Seahawks in 2012. He’s spent the last three years coaching under another Carroll protege, Saleh, in New York.
If Shanahan wants experience, he might like Smith, 68, who specializes in linebackers and who’s been a coordinator with the
Miami Dolphins, Texans and Falcons. He’s also overlapped twice with Shanahan — with the Texans from 2006 to 2008 and the Falcons in 2015 and 2016.
Nick Sorensen, 49ers defensive passing game/nickels coach
Sorensen is not a prominent member of the coaching staff but he’s had his hand in a lot of different areas over the past two seasons. He filled in at times for Holland with the linebackers in 2022, and he’s also worked with the defensive backs and nickel backs. He even runs the team’s weekly “takeaway” meetings called “The Ball.” All of which has given Sorensen a unique, global view of how the defense is run.
Cory Undlin, Texans defensive passing game coordinator
There are a lot of former 49ers defensive assistants scattered around the league. Undlin, who was in San Francisco in 2021 and 2022, stands out because he’s also a former defensive coordinator — for the
Detroit Lions in 2020. Other former 49ers assistants around the league include Jets linebackers coach Mike Rutenberg and Jets senior defensive assistant Tony Oden.
he start shyt in every thread, we just have to deal with it.
) and it's like we lifetime enemies or some shyt.
season begins
