49ers’ Kyle Shanahan on next defensive coordinator, plans for Brock Purdy, Deebo Samuel

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Kyle Shanahan still likes the defensive scheme the San Francisco 49ers have run since he arrived in 2017. But he’s looking for a defensive coordinator who can adjust if the situation calls for it.

That was the closest he came Wednesday to criticizing Nick Sorensen, who won’t be continuing as the team’s defensive coordinator but whom the 49ers hope will move into their vacant special teams coordinator spot.

“I love Nick as a person and I love him as a coach,” Shanahan said. “Still trying to keep him on board in another capacity because he’s a guy I don’t want to lose.”

Sorensen’s defense ranked eighth in yards allowed in 2024. But it disappointed in other key metrics, such as takeaways and sacks, especially down the stretch of the season when injuries bit deeply into the defense.

For instance, the team’s best pass rusher, Nick Bosa, either missed or played injured in eight games over the second half of the season. The 49ers continued to run their usual defense, one that seldom blitzed, and ended up losing six of those games.

“I mean, I love the scheme that we’ve had here,” Shanahan said. “I think it’s one of the hardest schemes to go (against) when you’ve got the right guys in the right spots. But I do think people adjust to schemes and you have to adjust, too, depending on your personnel. And I think that was a tougher thing for us this year, just going into the season it was a little bit harder than past seasons. And some of the injuries we had made it really tough for Nick (Sorensen).”

Shanahan only revealed one person he planned to interview for the job — internal candidate Brandon Staley, who was in charge of nickel cornerbacks and who ran the weekly takeaway meeting in 2024.

“I’ll give Staley a shot,” Shanahan said. “He’s been here.”

Other candidates might include former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who brought the current scheme to San Francisco in 2017, and former 49ers linebacker Jeff Ulbrich, who has worked under Saleh with the New York Jets in recent years. Both are being considered for head-coaching positions elsewhere.

Shanahan, however, has the ability to be more thorough this year. He noted that the last two hires — Steve Wilks and Sorensen — were made in February following long playoff runs and when the pool of candidates was shallow.

“There’s more opportunities out there,” he said. “And I plan on looking into all of them.”

Though he had plenty of experience in the Seattle Seahawks-style defense that Shanahan likes, this past season was Sorensen’s first as a defensive coordinator. It sounded as if Shanahan is seeking someone with more experience, not just in terms of being a coordinator but in being able to show multiple looks depending on the personnel available.

“I’m not saying you’ve got to change schemes, but you have to have the abilities, the history and the knowledge of how to change some stuff up when you’re in certain situations,” he said. “And I do think that we need that more going forward.”

As for Sorensen, Shanahan made it clear he wants him around, ideally as special teams coordinator. Sorensen had a 10-year career as a player because he was a special teams standout and he served as the Jacksonville Jaguars special teams coordinator in 2021.

The Jaguars finished in the bottom third in the league in special teams that season, though it was under a special circumstance. Sorensen only joined the team in May after the Jaguars’ regular special teams coordinator, Brian Schneider, abruptly left the team due to personal reasons. The 49ers on Monday fired Schneider following a season in which the 49ers finished 31st in special teams DVOA.

Sorensen didn’t get a second chance in Jacksonville. The 2021 season was Urban Meyer’s lone, scandal-ridden season as head coach there. He and his staff were gone at season’s end and the 49ers scooped up Sorensen in the offseason. Now Shanahan is trying to keep him.

“I know our building would be comfortable with it,” he said. “I know our players would be comfortable with it. This was a tough year, but Nick didn’t lose any respect or anything like that from any of our players.”

Shanahan, Lynch on Purdy

On Monday, Brock Purdy said he wanted to avoid “drama” in his upcoming contract negotiation and signaled he’d like a deal done before OTA practices begin in the spring.

General manager John Lynch and Shanahan seemed open to that and left no doubt they see Purdy as their quarterback of the future.

“What we know about Brock is he’s our guy,” Lynch said. “We have interest in Brock being around here for a long, long time. He’s done so much for our organization. He’s won big games and had a little tougher task, as we all did this year, with some of the things that happened this year. We just could never string games where we were all together. Through that he continued to lead, he continued to play at a high level. So we have every interest in him being around.”

Shanahan was just as adamant, going so far as to say he feels tied to the quarterback.

“I plan on being with Brock here the whole time I’m here,” he said. “Brock’s been a stud. He’s a guy I’ve got a lot of confidence in just as a human, but it starts with what he’s done on the field these last two and a half years. We’re capable of winning the Super Bowl with him. He just almost did, and I know he’s capable of getting the Niners a Super Bowl in the future.”

Purdy has one more year remaining on his rookie contract — for the bargain price of $1.1 million — and likely will be seeking a deal that averages more than $50 million.

Who else returns?

The 49ers’ brass was asked about the futures of several players specifically, including receiver Deebo Samuel, who is coming off the worst season of his career, and linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who’s scheduled to be a free agent in March.

Recent social media posts from the wives and girlfriends of the 49ers suggested Greenlaw already knows he won’t be back, but Shanahan and Lynch said they haven’t had that discussion with players or even with each other.

“We don’t even know yet,” Shanahan said, noting that other contract decisions — undoubtedly, Purdy’s — will be tied to Greenlaw’s.

“We’re doing everything in the world we can to bring Greenlaw back,” he said. “We’re not into losing really good players who are unbelievable people. … But that’s also a very hard challenge, very hard. And that’s something that you don’t just talk about in one meeting. There’s too many things that connect to that. Draft, free agency, roster, years, all that stuff. And that takes weeks, months to decide.”

Lynch, meanwhile, said the team plans for Samuel, who’s signed through the upcoming season, to remain on the roster.

“Yeah, he’s a good player and he’s done a ton for this organization,” he said. “We’re not in the business of letting good players out of here.”

As for Hargrave, who missed most of the season with a torn triceps, it’s more complicated. The team recently restructured his contract to allow for Hargrave to be cut with a post-June 1 designation, which will give the 49ers some cap relief and allow Hargrave to test the free-agent market in March.

“Would we be interested in having him back? Of course,” Lynch said. “Is that something we’ve come to an agreement on and is it something that fits in our plans? We’ll see.”

Finally, Lynch said that tackle Trent Williams, who missed the final seven games with an ankle issue, plans to return for his 15th season. Williams was still limping last week, though Lynch said the injury, which he described as “a bruise in the ankle joint” has taken “a positive turn” recently.

“Trent’s mindset is where it always is, and he’s still very interested in being the great player that he is, and I think he’s still got a lot left in the tank,” Lynch said. “Trent’s as committed as ever and we love having Trent Williams a part of us.”

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.