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Brandon Staley Explains Why the 49ers Signed Leonard Floyd

"Leonard is one of the top players I've ever coached," Staley explained this week.

Grant Cohn

Nov 19, 2023; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills defensive end Leonard Floyd (56) prepares to sack New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson (2) in the second quarter at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 19, 2023; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills defensive end Leonard Floyd (56) prepares to sack New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson (2) in the second quarter at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports / Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
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SANTA CLARA -- The main reason the 49ers signed Leonard Floyd is Brandon Staley.

Staley is the 49ers' new assistant head coach. He worked with Leonard Floyd on the Bears and the Rams and was the main person who advocated for the 49ers to sign Floyd this offseason.

"Leonard is one of the top players I've ever coached," Staley explained this week. "I coached him in two spots and have been able to see his growth and improvement as a player. I felt like last year he played as well as he has ever played, and that's saying a lot because he has played at a high level and he has been a part of no. 1 defenses wherever he has been -- Chicago, the Rams and part of a really good group last year in Buffalo as well. Very experienced. And our organization knew a lot about him before. I think I came here and filled in whatever gaps they needed, but Leonard's resume speaks for itself and I think he's going to be a great fit for our team and style of play teaming up with the guys who are already here. Excited to see what he can do."

When Floyd was drafted by the Bears in 2016, their defensive coordinator was Vic Fangio, who is Staley's mentor. Fangio used Floyd in Chicago similar to the way he used Aldon Smith on the 49ers -- as a stand-up edge rusher who was dangerous running stunts and games off the edge.

Floyd has 58 sacks in his career, but he'll turn 32 on Sept. 8. We'll see how much he has left.

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Grant Cohn

GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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