NFC West Check-In: 49ers fire defensive coordinator after one season

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers fired defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen after just one disappointing season, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the move hadn’t been announced.

The Niners are making significant changes to their coaching staff after going 6-11 this season, missing playoffs and finishing last in the NFC West. Special teams coordinator Brian Schneider also was fired on Tuesday, the person said on condition of anonymity because that hadn’t been announced either.

This is the third straight offseason that San Francisco will change defensive coordinators, starting when DeMeco Ryans left following the 2022 season to take over as head coach for Houston.

Steve Wilks was hired last season and helped San Francisco reach the Super Bowl but was fired anyway, with coach Kyle Shanahan saying his scheme wasn’t a good fit with the Niners’ players.

Shanahan then promoted Sorensen into the role after he had spent the previous two seasons working mostly with the secondary and running the team’s weekly meetings focused on creating and avoiding turnovers.

Sorensen wasn’t able to get the defense back to the level it reached under Ryans. San Francisco ranked 29th in the league in scoring defense, allowing 25.6 points per game, and was tied for the seventh fewest takeaways with 17. The Niners had just two takeaways over the final nine games and ended the season allowing at least 40 points in back-to-back games for the first time since 2015.

Injuries played a role in the struggles with key players like Nick Bosa, Javon Hargrave, Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga all missing time.

Seattle Sports staff made minor additions to this post.

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