It was a brutal end to the San Francisco 49ers season, but one that should entirely overshadow the season they put together.
To that end head coach Kyle Shanahan talked about the changes he made on the defensive staff and the adjustments he’s making as he looks ahead to the 2024 campaign.
“Nick Sorensen‘s going to call the plays; Brandon will be a big part of the game plans,” Shanahan said. “Staley has been a big part of free agency already. Knows a lot of ball, has run a lot of schemes — happy that he’s part of ours now. I was just pumped to be able to get Brandon. I was hoping to stay in-house and do what we had done in the past on defense. But being able to get Brandon (on top of that) was huge.”
49ers were a whisker away from Championship
This offseason hasn’t only seen the sacking of defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, but also the additions of Maliek Collins and Jordan Elliott on the 49ers defensive line.
“He’s really big,” Shanahan said of Elliott, “especially the size he plays with. We’re just trying to balance out our guys. You don’t want all the same body types. What we got with Maliek and what we got with Jordan — we get a few different sizes and styles of play there.”
As for 49ers QB Brock Purdy Shanahan couldn’t be more positive.
“I’m just pumped Brock gets an offseason,” Shanahan said. “His first season, he didn’t get much of one because he was the third quarterback. Last year, he couldn’t throw with us until training camp. This year, he just got married and he’s fully healthy. He’s going to come back here in a couple weeks and we’ll get going. I’m just pumped to be able to go through the film with him and be on the field with him.”
“In 2022, he had seven games. When you have a whole season, there’s so much tape to go over. That takes a long time to get through. You always want to be perfect, and no one ever will be. But when you have the reps that he’s had, now he can review that stuff and take it to the field. So when we get back on April 15 together, we’ll look at all the quick game, all the five-step drops, all the seven-step drops, the play action, the movement, all that stuff that (Brian) Griese and (Klay) Kubiak will take a look at and work on every day.”
The 49ers will be one of the favourites to represent the NFC once again this season, assuming they can avoid major injuries on the offensive side of the ball.
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