After a season filled with weekly blunders on special teams, the 49ers have a new person in charge.
The 49ers on Monday hired former New York Jets assistant coach Brant Boyer as special teams coordinator.
Boyer replaces Brian Schneider, who served as 49ers’ special teams coordinator for the past three seasons. Schneider was fired the day after the 49ers finished the regular season with a 6-11 record.
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“I do think it's an avenue we can get better in,” Shanahan said following the season.
“Special teams is a part of football, and everything a part of football is extremely important to us.”
Boyer, 53, played 10 seasons in the NFL as a linebacker and core special teams player from 1994 to 2003 with Miami, Jacksonville and Cleveland.
He served as the Jets’ special teams coordinator since 2016 under Todd Bowles, Adam Gase, Robert Saleh and interim coach Jeff Ulbrich. Boyer also worked four seasons as an assistant special teams coach with the Indianapolis Colts.
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Coach Kyle Shanahan now has filled the two major coaching vacancies on his staff.
The 49ers on Friday hired Saleh as defensive coordinator to replace Nick Sorensen, who was fired after one season on the job.
Saleh, who previously worked for the 49ers from 2016 to 2020, becomes the fourth defensive coordinator in four seasons for the 49ers. DeMeco Ryans ran the defense in 2021 and ’22, followed by Steve Wilks (2023) and Sorensen (2024).
Initially, Shanahan expressed interest in retaining Sorensen on his coaching staff. However, Sorensen will not be back with the 49ers in 2025, a source told NBC Sports Bay Area.
Also, defensive assistant Brandon Staley is not expected to be back with the 49ers in 2025. Staley, the former head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, held the role of assistant head coach/defense last season.