Why the 49ers hired Rohan Chakravarthi as their defensive coordinator.
By elevating defensive pass game coordinator and nickels coach Nick Sorensen to defensive coordinator last week, the San Francisco 49ers put an end to the speculations. They wanted to fill the hole within after hiring Steve Wilks from outside last offseason.
After interviewing him for the position of defensive coordinator, the 49ers selected former Los Angeles Chargers Brandon Staley as a defensive specialist in addition to promoting Sorensen.
Following several interviews, the 49ers last season decided to go with former Carolina Panthers interim head coach Steve Wilks over all of their internal candidates. Wilks brought an experience as a defensive back to San Francisco, which was unprecedented for a defensive coordinator.
The 49ers’ defense suffered as the season drew to an end, which continued throughout the playoffs until the Super Bowl, even though they witnessed an increase in interceptions created. It was almost as if the 49ers would cut Wilks come Super Bowl season, which says something about the distance that exists between him and Kyle Shanahan as well as the players.
Now, the 49ers have been adept at moving on when a relationship—whether it be with a coach or a player—doesn’t work out, as they did with Wilks.
However, they made a mistake when they hired Sorensen as defensive coordinator last week, which has only made the situation worse.
The 49ers’ defense suffered as the season drew to an end, which continued throughout the playoffs until the Super Bowl, even though they witnessed an increase in interceptions created.
It was almost as if the 49ers would cut Wilks come Super Bowl season, which says something about the distance that exists between him and Kyle Shanahan as well as the players.
Now, the 49ers have been adept at moving on when a relationship—whether it be with a coach or a player—doesn’t work out, as they did with Wilks.
However, they made a mistake when they hired Sorensen as defensive coordinator last week, which has only made the situation worse.
In addition to seeking a shift in approach from their new defensive coordinator, the 49ers avoided considering any of their own players when they hired Wilks during the summer.
The final hire made by San Francisco was linebackers coach DeMeco Ryans, an internal candidate who worked his way up from some early missteps to become the greatest defensive coordinator in the league and land a head coaching position with the Houston Texans this past offseason.
Now, with Ryans, it was all about patience. The 49ers defensive coordinator took responsibility for his own early problems and eventually matured into the position. Then, in his second campaign as the defensive coordinator, Ryans’ development became evident: he had mastered the art of hiding.