The San Francisco 49ers interviewed Detroit Lions assistant Deshea Townsend and Robert Saleh for a second term as defensive coordinator on Thursday, the first step in their hiring process.
The Niners are looking for their fourth defensive coordinator in the last four seasons after firing Nick Sorensen earlier this week after only one season in the position.
Steve Wilks was fired following the 2023 season, which saw San Francisco reach the Super Bowl, and DeMeco Ryans left after his second season in 2022 to take a position as head coach of the Houston Texans.
Under Sorensen, the 49ers regressed this season as the injury-plagued team found it difficult to stop the run, generate turnovers, and exert constant pressure on the quarterback.
San Francisco tied for the seventh-fewest takeaways with 17 points, and they were 29th in the league in scoring defense, giving up 25.6 points per game. For the first time since 2015, the Niners finished the season giving up at least 40 points in consecutive games, and they only had two takeaways in the last nine games.
Coach Kyle Shanahan stated that he wants a coordinator who can better adjust to the personnel and is open to adjusting the scheme, even though San Francisco has used a similar system for a number of years, beginning during Saleh’s stint from 2017 to 20.
In the preceding years, Saleh contributed to the development of a defense that was among the most effective in the league. He had a difficult first two seasons as Shanahan’s first defensive coordinator in 2017.
However, the defense took off after the team selected defensive end Nick Bosa in the 2019 NFL Draft and adopted the “wide nine” system, which had edge rushers line up wide and concentrate on getting up field.
After Bosa missed nearly the whole season due to a knee injury, San Francisco had a successful season the following season and advanced to the Super Bowl in 2019. As a result, Saleh was hired as head coach of the New York Jets.
The Jets boasted a potent defense during Saleh’s tenure, but he was fired halfway through the previous campaign. Saleh is also being considered for head coaching positions.
After serving in that capacity for Jacksonville for the previous two seasons, Townsend is in his first season as Detroit’s defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator. After a 13-year playing career, Townsend has also served as an assistant with the New York Giants, Arizona, Tennessee, and Chicago.
With Pittsburgh in 2005 and 2008, Townsend was a member of two Super Bowl-winning defenses and had 21 career interceptions.
Compared to 2023, when they allowed a 91.5 passer rating, the Lions lead the NFL this season with an 82.0 rating.
According to NFL regulations, Townsend was only permitted to do a virtual interview since coaches presently under contract with any team are prohibited from conducting in-person interviews until January 20.
The interviews meet the Rooney Rule’s standards, which state that before hiring a coordinator, teams must interview a minimum of two diverse individuals from outside the company.
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https://apnews.com/hub/nfl is the AP NFL.
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