Skip to main content

Former 49ers QB Coach Shane Day Joins Chargers

There goes another assistant coach the 49ers no longer have to fire.

There goes another assistant coach the 49ers no longer have to fire.

First it was former 49ers offensive line coach John Benton, who went to the Jets with Robert Saleh. Now it's former quarterbacks coach Shane Day, who has gone to the Chargers, according to ESPN's Nick Wagoner.

Benton and Day coached the two worst position groups on the 49ers last season -- their players regressed, and their technique was sloppy. The 49ers probably would have had to fire those two coaches had they not gotten jobs elsewhere. Which means the Jets and Chargers did the 49ers a favor. Saved them some awkward meetings.

The 49ers essentially pushed out Day when they re-hired Rich Scangarello to be the quarterbacks coach this offseason. Scangarello was San Francisco's QB coach from 2017 to 2018, then left in 2019 to become the Broncos offensive coordinator, and the 49ers hired Day to replace him. 

Day flopped. And so did Scangarello. The Broncos fired him after just one year. Then he went to the Eagles as a senior offensive assistant, and got let go again after just one year. So the 49ers re-hired him this month while Day still was on the payroll. Gave Scangarello his title while Day still technically had the job.

Cold.

So Day had to go. And the 49ers won't miss him.

From Day's perspective, he just got a promotion, because he becomes the passing game coordinator for the Chargers and he wasn't any kind of coordinator on the 49ers. Plus he'll get to work with Justin Herbert, one of the most promising young quarterbacks in the NFL.

From the 49ers' perspective, they just upgraded at quarterback coach.

Good day for the 49ers.