Your daily San Francisco 49ers links for Thursday, February 22, 2024
Report: Announcement of 49ers defensive coordinator “could be soon”
Eight days ago, the 49ers fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, only two days after the Super Bowl. Soon, the 49ers might be announcing his replacement.
Tim Kawakami of TheAthletic.com posted this on Tuesday: “Hear the 49ers might be closing in on a DC. Not sure when there’ll be an announcement, but could be soon.”
There has been little or no reporting on candidates for the job. Some believe it will be former Chargers head coach Brandon Staley. Coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters, when announcing the move, that he will consider internal and external candidates.
Presumably, the search has been proceeding — especially with the Scouting Combine coming next week. Time generally is of the essence, given that the vacancy didn’t even arise until two days after the entire season ended.
Many believe that Shanahan wouldn’t have fired Wilks without already knowing who the replacement would be. That would explain the quiet search. Lock onto the person you want, interview a handful of candidates, and make the hire.
Regardless of how it has played out and who it will be, it makes sense to think it’s going to happen soon.
6. Jake Moody.
He missed a kick in each of the 49ers’ three playoff games. I’d release him. Let him be someone else’s headache.
7. Ray Ray McCloud.
He’s a solid punt returner, but he’s a free agent and in the Super Bowl he tried to scoop and run with a loose ball instead of simply falling on it, and the Chiefs recovered and scored a touchdown. I’d let him leave.
8. Jon Feliciano.
He was the 49ers’ best right guard this season, but he’s a free agent and after the Super Bowl he publicly threw backup right guard Spencer Burford under the bus on Twitter. I would not re-sign Feliciano. He’s a mediocre player and a bad teammate.
NFL mock draft: How experts predict 49ers will use No. 31 pick
NFL.com (Three-round)
31. Javon Bullard, S, Georgia
“San Francisco could see a lot of former 49er Jimmie Ward in Bullard because of his athleticism, versatility and aggressiveness on the outside.” – Chad Reuter
The Draft Network
31. Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia
“The departure of Mike McGlinchey went overlooked because of the overall success on offense, but the need at RT is overwhelmingly evident for San Francisco. Enter the former Georgia Bulldog Amarius Mims to align right away on the right side. He is someone with the athleticism to slide over to left tackle whenever Trent Williams decides to hang ‘em up for good.” – Ryan Fowler
The Ringer
31. Kingsley Suamataia, OT, BYU
“Suamataia is one of my favorite developmental players in this class. At 6-foot-6 and 330 pounds, Suamataia has a Pro Bowl ceiling at tackle should he learn how to play with more patience and balance—right now, he’s just letting his athleticism and size do the talking for him. Right tackle was a problem for the 49ers all season, and Suamataia is good enough to win that job now, and grow into a Trent Williams replacement.” – Danny Kelly
49ers make history after multiple blown leads in Super Bowl loss
The 49ers made history in their Super Bowl LVIII loss to the Kansas City Chiefs … for the wrong reason.
San Francisco, for the second time in five years, came so close to hoisting the franchise’s sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy but suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Chiefs in overtime at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 11.
The 49ers led the Chiefs 16-13 with 11:22 remaining in the fourth quarter and 19-16 with 1:53 remaining in the same quarter before game-tying field goals on both ensuing Chiefs drives. San Francisco then jumped out to a 22-19 lead in overtime before Kansas City’s eventual game-winning touchdown.
The collapse marked the first time in NFL history a team lost after leading twice in the fourth quarter and once in overtime, per Sportradar.
And that’s because the 49ers don’t seriously invest in offensive linemen. They try to save money at the position, which is somewhat understandable — teams can splurge at every position when there’s a salary cap. Teams have to decide which positions are more important than others and where they can save some cap space.
But offensive line seems like the last position where a team would want to cut corners financially, especially a team with an excellent young quarterback such as Brock Purdy. When the 49ers had Jimmy Garoppolo, it made sense for them to spend more money on defensive linemen than offensive linemen because the offense wasn’t going to be elite with Garoppolo at quarterback.
49ers’ Kyle Shanahan is being extremely secretive about his DC hire
That doesn’t mean we have any idea who it might be. Even the most connected of reporters around the Niners seem to be having trouble conjuring the name of someone who could replace Steve Wilks, even if they tend to agree that a hire is brewing.
“In NFL coaching circles, there’s a belief that Kyle Shanahan is preparing to fill the 49ers’ vacant DC opening from within,” Silver wrote. “That said, this has been one of the more secretive searches in recent memory… so until there’s an announcement, feel free to dream those big dreams…”
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