San Francisco 49ers: 3 assistants who could become head coaches

If the 49ers maintain success under Kyle Shanahan, these assistants could eventually become head coaches.

The San Francisco 49ers have stayed relatively lucky in the retention of their assistants under head coach Kyle Shanahan the past couple of years.

True, the Niners lost their defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator, Joe Woods, to the Cleveland Browns’ defensive coordinator job during the offseason. And with a new rule in place, preventing teams from blocking other squads from prying away assistants in would-be promotional coordinator roles, Shanahan could have a tougher time retaining his staff’s continuity in 2021 and beyond.

Successful teams often prompt other teams’ interest in assistants. Case in point, in early 2019, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay saw numerous assistants pulled away for other roles around the league, including now-Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor. This stemmed from the Rams’ offensively explosive run all the way up to Super Bowl LIII. Likewise, another former Rams assistant, Matt LaFleur, managed to land his job as the Green Bay Packers’ head coach.

There are plenty of other examples, too, and it’s nothing surprising to see this sort of thing happen on a year-to-year basis over the league’s history.

Shanahan’s own 49ers are coming off a 13-3 season in which his team rode a dynamic run game, potent defensive front seven and some innovative play calling all the way to the Super Bowl, too. And considering the team’s success last year, it’s a bit of a shock San Francisco retained the overwhelming majority of its assistants.

That might not be the case for much longer, though, as these three assistants could eventually become head coaches somewhere else at various points in the future.