49ers have seemingly cut ties with longtime defensive assistant

As the San Francisco 49ers continue their search for a new defensive coordinator to replace Robert Saleh, who was recently named the new head coach of the Tennessee Titans, it also appears that they'll be looking to replace defensive backs coach/defensive passing game specialist Daniel Bullocks, who joined the franchise back as an assistant DBs coach back in 2017, which of course, was the same year Kyle Shanahan came on board as head coach.

While no official announcement has been made by the club at the time of this writing, the soon-to-be 43-year-old is no longer listed among the assistant coaches on the Niners' official website, which was first noticed by Dieter Kurtenbach of the San Jose Mercury News and KNBR.

While this is certainly an interesting development, given Bullocks' lengthy run with the Niners, the writing was somewhat on the wall.

As you saw above, Kurtenbach mentioned Atlanta Falcons secondary coach Justin Hood in his post, and for those who may have missed it, NFL Media's Tom Pelissero reported last week that the Niners did indeed reach out to request an interview for what Pelissero called a "high-ranking staff position, only to have that request denied, as new Atlanta head coach Kevin Stefanski apparently wanted to keep some of the team's key assistants in place after retaining defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.

Now, had the 49ers wanted to talk to Hood about becoming the new defensive coordinator, the Falcons wouldn't have been allowed to block him from interviewing. So, naturally, once that news broke, rumors swirled on exactly what position San Francisco wanted Hood to fill.

And the world now apparently has that answer.

If Bullocks has indeed been let go, the move could certainly be considered justified, as the Niners ranked 25th in the NFL this past season in passing yards allowed, surrendering 232.4 per game, and tied for 21st in passing touchdowns allowed, giving up 29.

San Francisco also tied with the Dallas Cowboys and the Titans for the second-fewest interceptions, recording just six. Only the New York Jets had fewer, as they famously became the first team in history not to notch a single pick. The 49ers' collective 47.1 PFF coverage grade was also among the worst in the league, ranking 25th.

So, again, perhaps Bullocks' departure shouldn't be a viewed as a surprise. And Niners fans certainly shouldn't be surprised if more shuffling takes place over the next few weeks when the DC position is finally filled.