49ers' rumored nepotistic coaching hires do not inspire confidence

OK, so by now, we're all enlightened enough to know Einstein never said that quote about insanity being repeating the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, right?

While it would've been nice to think it had been said by one of the 20th Century's finest thinkers, the fact it wasn't doesn't kill the truthfulness of the idiom. Perhaps it could tie into another one oft-attributed to Henry Ford: "If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got."

With that being the case, what the hell is this San Francisco 49ers coaching search?

According to The Athletic's Matt Barrows on the "49ers +/- Podcast" with fellow insider Tim Kawakami, two names are at the forefront of the Niners' searches for a new defensive and special teams coordinator, respectively: Robert Saleh, who coached the defense until 2021, for the defensive role and Nick Sorensen, who was recently deposed from the aforementioned defensive job, to head up special teams.

Underwhelmed? Me too.

This is absolutely nothing but a big fat "meh," as far as I'm concerned.

I've written already on Saleh and how he's unlikely to be the silver bullet 49ers fans expect, so I won't regurgitate that here, except to say that the idea of Saleh seems to be a lot better than the reality on the field.

Regardless, it seems to be an idea that captivates head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch, with Barrows suggesting the 49ers have intimated (and possibly even offered) they will make Saleh the highest paid defensive coordinator in the league.

Now, whether you agree with my hypothesis on Saleh or not, I think we can at least all agree that paying him like the best defensive coordinator in the league is insane.

Because he isn't.

However, it seems the Niners have backed themselves into a corner with Saleh, as they've done precious little work with any other defensive coordinators, interviewing only Brandon Staley (already on the staff as an assistant head coach) and Detroit Lions defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Deshea Townsend.

This seems to fly in the face of Shanahan's comments after the season where he said:

"You’re going to always try to figure out the best one. So, you’ve got ideas going into that, but just being so early I’m going to have an opportunity to talk to a number of guys too, so we’ll see what that leads us to."

Kyle Shanahan

Apparently "a number of guys" meant three, one of which is already with the team. one of which is very familiar to the team, and one outsider.

It's hardly the stuff of deep self-evaluation.

It seems odd that after two middling-to-down years in this scheme (which largely peaked under DeMeco Ryans anyway, rather than Saleh), the 49ers would back up the Brinks truck to bring him back. Moreover, at a time where it seems the Niners' blend of Wide 9 defensive front mixed with Cover 3 schemes in the secondary might be starting to look passé to the rest of the league, sticking with the same ideas feels oddly insular and lacks innovation.

Of course, there's still time for that to change, but given one of the reputed "other" candidates in Jeff Ulbrich accepted the defensive coordinator position with the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday, it's reasonable to think that Barrows might well have a point.

But wait, there's more.

Special Teams continues to be an afterthought

Possibly more damaging is Barrows' assertion that Sorensen is the front-runner to replace Brian Schneider as special teams coordinator.

This disappointment may be even larger as the team has actually done due diligence on other options, including former Carolina Panthers interim head coach Chris Tabor, and several candidates from successful special teams units, including those of the Detroit Lions and Denver Broncos.

So it's reasonable to assume that they did, at least, consider other options at some point.

That makes it all the more perplexing that Sorensen would be the frontrunner.

After all, in Nick Sorensen's lone season(!) as a special teams coordinator, his Jacksonville Jaguars unit contrived to rank last in the NFL in expected points:

Hardly the stuff of former 49ers special teams coordinator Brad Seely, for instance. It once again smacks of Shanahan's feckless approach to the third side of the ball, with "good enough" or "don't screw it up" being preferred to actually developing a cohesive, talented unit.

While it's not entirely Shanahan's fault, the fact the 49ers haven't had a punt return touchdown since Ted Ginn scored against the Seattle Seahawks in September 2011, nor a kick-return touchdown since 2018, shows the level of concern and attention given to special teams by the organisation.

There have also been plenty of special teams miscues that have cost the team in key games, whether it be punt returns against the Los Angeles Rams this season, or, you know, the ball bouncing off your punt protector in the middle of the Super Bowl, changing the momentum of the game entirely.

Shanahan can bristle all he wants at questions of his commitment to special teams, but what he doesn't seem to realise is that it's not just about schemes and player acquisition at the key spots that shows how much you value special teams.

It's the quality of coaching and time you give it.

Hiring Sorensen, whose sole qualification for the job seems to be that Shanahan likes having him with the organisation, would be just another half-hearted decision of many related to the unit, and wouldn't lave much hope for improvement.

Resistance to new ideas seems built-in

The most disappointing part of this coaching search is just how...stale it all is. While it's hard to imagine any (outside of the absolute screaming zealots) 49ers fans wanting the entire organisation blown up, the poor performances of twp out of three major units suggest the need for some freshness in ideas and some invigoration of the team as it seeks to bounce back from a poor 2024.

Sadly, hiring Saleh and Sorensen wouldn't nearly move the needle in this aspect. They're known quantities to every 49ers fan and player, and frankly, in a lot of cases, don't represent anything exciting.

While it's not about "winning the press conference," but performing on the field, nothing suggests that San Francisco would see major improvement from either unit with the suggested hires.

Let's end on another idiom: "If you start to stand still, you'll go backwards." These are stand-still, insular hires, showing a lack of interest in innovation.

There's still time to change it. The 49ers should, almost immediately.

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