SANTA CLARA – Nick Sorensen took a seat in the front row as other 49ers defensive assistants scattered throughout Levi’s Stadium’s auditorium. It was last June, when they were made available for their annual speed-dating meet-and-greet with reporters.
“Nick Sorensen, nice to meet you,” he politely said while extending his hand.
Who is Nick Sorensen, and why is he taking over as defensive coordinator of the 49ers’ high-priced unit that just had a Super Bowl meltdown? And why will he be aided by former Los Angeles Chargers coach Brandon Staley, who’s coming aboard as Kyle Shanahan’s Assistant Head Coach?
Consider it the best of both worlds in a hiring process that officially stretched 2 1/2 weeks but has roots beyond that. Sorenesen’s decade-plus experience in the 49ers’ preferred scheme makes sense for the in-house promotion, and Staley can assist from not just his leadership perspective but also advise with needed tweaks to the system.
The 49ers have yet to officially confirm those defensive appointments but that is the expected succession plan, as first reported Saturday by ESPN.
Sorensen has been on Shanahan’s defensive staff for the past two seasons. When asked at that June introduction for his speciality, he noted that he was helping out with the linebackers, but that he also has a background with defensive backs, especially nickel backs, which is the role he was primarily seen coaching in practices this past season.
Don’t look at the position group, per se. Sorenen’s specialty is the defensive scheme the 49ers have used since Shanahan arrived as coach in 2017 under defensive coordinators Robert Saleh (2017-20), DeMeco Ryans (2021-22) and the recently fired Steve Wilks (2023).
Sorensen, 45, further described his role in June as: “It’s also, ‘Hey, kind of fit where needed, if you see something.’ So I stay tied with Wilks in that way. And Kyle in that way.”
Sorensen coached eight seasons with the Seahawks on Pete Carroll’s staff, initially as a special teams assistant (2013-16) before coaching the secondary from 2017-20, with an emphasis on the nickel backs in 2020.
Sorensen played 10 seasons in the NFL as a safety with the St. Louis Rams (2001-02), Jacksonville Jaguars (2003-06) and the Cleveland Browns (2007-10). The Miami Dolphins initially signed him when he went undrafted out of Virginia Tech, where he switched from quarterback to safety in 1999 when future NFL star Michael Vick arrived on campus.
In 2012, Sorensen joined the coaching ranks at Youngstown State – in the Ohio hometown of the 49ers’ owner Denise DeBartolo York as well as her son, CEO Jed York. Sorensen left the Seahawks’ staff in 2021 to replace Brian Schneider as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ special teams coordinator, a role Schneider has held for the 49ers the past two seasons.
This past season, Sorensen was often seen at practice schooling up the defensive backs, specifically the nickel backs. Wilks’ speciality was at cornerbacks so he was there, too, as was secondary coach Daniel Bullocks, who interviewed for the coordinator post this past week along with Dave Merritt (Chiefs) and Gerald Alexander (Raiders).
The 49ers’ nickel job rotated throughout this past season as the franchise struggled to find the right mix after Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir established themselves as the starting cornerbacks on the outside. Free agent bust Isaiah Oliver was moved out of the nickel role. Lenoir proved adept at shifting inside, but Ambry Thomas showed inconsistencies at right cornerback. With the Super Bowl on the line, the 49ers’ nickel was Logan Ryan, who arrived two months earlier out of pseudo-retirement; Ryan got beat on the Kansas City Chiefs’ winning touchdown pass in overtime of Super Bowl LVIII.
In June, when Sorensen was also working with the linebackers, he talked with great detail about the young prospects on the roster who were learning “our system” behind starters Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw.
Added Sorensen: “They want to be the best in the world. That’s kind of been the mantra for a while around here with the ‘backers.”
That defense will welcome back four Pro Bowl players – Warner, Ward, Nick Bosa and Javon Hargrave – plus 2022 All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga, who sustained a season-ending knee injury in November. Defensive tackle Arik Armstead is poised to return for his 10th season, cornerback Deommodore Lenoir is coming off a breakout season, and safety Ji’Ayir Brown has a Super Bowl interception to his credit.
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That’s not to say the defense lacks concerns. Greenlaw tore his left Achilles tendon in the Super Bowl, and the 49ers must fill vacancies at defensive end and nickel back.
Statistically, the 49ers had the second-worst run defense in the playoffs (149.3 yards per game). In the regular season, they ranked third against the run (89.7 ypg.), but 17th in third-down efficiency and 24th in fourth-down conversions (14-of-28). That latter statistic served as a harbinger of their Super Bowl fate: On fourth-and-1 in the Super Bowl, Mahomes ran for an 8-yard gain to extend the Chiefs’ championship-winning drive.
It wasn’t the first Super Bowl loss Sorensen endured. He was on the 2001 Rams team that fell to the New England Patriots in Tom Brady’s first Super Bowl victory. In his 10-year playing career, Sorensen played four four head coaches (Mike Martz, Rams; Jack Del Rio, Jaguars; Romeo Crennel, Browns; Eric Mangini, Browns) and five defensive coordinators (Lovie Smith, Rams; Mike Smith, Jaguars; Todd Grantham, Browns; Mel Tucker, Browns; and, Rob Ryan, Browns).
Staley knows playoff heartache, too. In his lone season as the Los Angeles Rams’ defensive coordinator, that 2020 team was stopped in the NFC divisional round by the Green Bay Packers. The next day, Staley took over as the Chargers’ coach, and he lost his only playoff appearance a year later, when they blew a 27-0 lead in a wild-card loss to Jacksonville.
So now Staley must help guide Sorensen, who may be a first-time coordinator, but so were Saleh and Ryans.
One of Sorensen’s key roles has been to lead a weekly segment emphasizing turnovers, to get the ball. Well, he got the big job, and now the ball is in his court, so to speak.