John Lynch Explains Why the 49ers Hired Brandon Staley

ORLANDO -- I asked John Lynch why the 49ers hired former Chargers head coach Brandon Staley as their assistant head coach on Monday at the NFL's Annual Meeting. Here's what Lynch said:

Q: Why did you hire Brandon Staley? Obviously he's not the defensive coordinator and he doesn't have a background with the Wide 9, so what's he going to do? Will he help draw up pressure schemes and game plans?

LYNCH: "Really what we wanted to do was get back to who we are as a defense, our style of defense. Nick Sorensen had a great vision for how we can do that, but you also want to consistently evolve, much like we did early with the Wide 9. Kyle said the Wide 9 used to give him fits when he coached against it, so can we implement it and still keep the integrity of our defense? And we were able to do it. I think Brandon gives us an ability to continue to add layers to who we are and what we do without compromising the integrity of who we are. Brandon is a really intelligent guy, and Kyle and I spent a lot of time talking and appreciating his mind for the game. He's well regarded throughout our league. Having a guy with a head-coach mindset, like even in the free agent meetings on the personnel side of it, he's sharp there. Respectful, kind of being quiet until asked, and then he has some great takes and opinions. I think he's a great add for us and that defensive staff is really meshing extremely well. Now we have to go put it all together, but I think Brandon was a nice add for our building."