The San Francisco 49ers are coming off the heels of one of their worst seasons in the era of head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Their record of 6-11 in the 2024 season was not one anyone expected, especially considering they were an OT series away from winning Super Bowl LVIII the year prior.
Ben Solak of ESPN, however, just ranked the Niners at No. 3 in one of his latest lists. This list ranked the best coaching staffs and coordinators ahead of the 2025 season.
In addition to the myriad of injuries on both sides of the ball, part of their lack of success was due to coaching.
2024 marked the second consecutive season in which the 49ers had to find a new defensive coordinator. Rather than find someone outside the building, they promoted Nick Sorensen into the role.
Sorensen had previously served as San Francisco's defensive passing game specialist/nickels coach.
His defensive scheme and philosophy did not mesh well with the 49ers, and they would drop to a bottom-five unit in the league. At the end of the season, the team parted ways with Sorensen and began a third defensive coordinator search in as many seasons.
This led the team to reunite with Robert Saleh, who had coached the Niners defense from 2017 to 2020. He left to become head coach of the New York Jets in 2021 but was fired from that role five games into 2024 after going 2-3.
Solak's piece acknowledges that San Francisco's reunion with Saleh will provide a huge boost for the team. His defenses on the 49ers were always among the top in the league.
Saleh even had the best passing defense in the league in 2019 en route to an NFC Championship and Super Bowl trip.
In addition to Saleh returning as DC, he also brought over Brant Boyer as the team's new special teams coordinator, another unit that struggled in 2024. Boyer held the same role with the Jets, previously.
Also, Klay Kubiak was promoted from passing game specialist to the team's new offensive coordinator.
Solak acknowledged in his piece that Kubiak remaining would provide stability to the team's staff, and that would be a net positive as well.
However, it also will likely help challenge Shanahan with his play-calling and give him another perspective, which it seemed could've helped last season.
This slew of new coordinators to the 49ers, and the highly positive reception they are receiving from the media, fans, and internally points to positive things for the team in 2025.
Although coaching alone won't take them back to the top of their league, it's a great start, and ESPN agrees.