Why Brandon Staley is the 49ers' Defensive Coordinator Backup

If the 49ers cannot seal the deal with Robert Saleh, they will likely look to hire this coach as their defensive coordinator.

November 13, 2022; Santa Clara, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley during the fourth quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images | Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

The likelihood of Robert Saleh returning to be the defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers is slowly decreasing.

Saleh will interview for a second time with the Jacksonville Jaguars to be their head coach. There is a decent chance Saleh will be offered a contract and take it. This will be his fourth head coaching interview he's undergone, so he clearly wants this role.

The 49ers will have to figure out a backup plan. So many defensive coordinator candidates have already been hired or will be hired soon. Waiting on Saleh is going to hurt the 49ers despite them having all of this time to find contingencies.

However, much like the 49ers are dead set on Saleh, they are probably already dead set on their defensive coordinator backup. That backup is poised to be 49ers assistant head coach Brandon Staley. Going from Saleh to Staley is a drastic drop-off, but the 49ers seem comfortable with him.

He has a year under his belt with the 49ers. He should have a firm grasp of what they like to do while installing some of his wrinkles. Kyle Shanahan doesn't want a dramatic scheme change. He wants the structure to remain intact.

Staley can accomplish that. The issue with him is getting the players to buy in. Will Nick Bosa and Fred Warner be thrilled about it? I'm sure they will give initial support until Staley shows they can succeed with him.

Deommodore Lenoir will surely give his support after he called Staley a "genius" last year in training camp. So, he'll have one key defensive player on his side and possibly more with Lenoir's influence. Still, going with Staley doesn't move the needle at all.

What did he even do last year? He ran the meetings responsible for generating turnovers and the 49ers were putrid at that last year. Staley may have influenced aspects of the 49ers' pass rush and/or pass coverage.

If it was the pass rush, it was awful. If it was the coverage, he gets a little stock in his favor. But again, going from Sorensen to Staley is bland. At least Saleh would've been exciting despite him not being with the 49ers for long.

If he succeeds, the same might happen to Staley. Maybe not after 2025 if it goes great, but in two years he could be gone. Staley might still seek to be a head coach again after having a fairly miserable first stint when he was the coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.

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