Examining San Francisco 49ers' New-Look Coaching Staff for 2015
At least, they left Tom Rathman alone.
The San Francisco 49ers promoted three coaches this offseason—Jim Tomsula, Geep Chryst and Eric Mangini. The Niners got rid of every other coach except Rathman, the running backs coach.
Rathman has been the 49ers’ running backs coach for 12 seasons—from 1997 to 2002 and from 2009 to the present. He also played for the 49ers from 1986 to 1993. After 20 seasons with the Niners, Rathman may be a lifer. He surely is one heck of a running backs coach. The 49ers were smart to keep him.
We don’t know a lot about the other eleven coaches on the staff—eight new ones and three assuming different responsibilities. The Niners still haven’t made them available for interviews. Once they’re made available and they answer questions, we will get a better sense of their coaching philosophy and their plans for next season.
Until then, this is what we know about the 49ers’ new coaches so far, and this is what we should expect from them next season.
Head Coach Jim Tomsula
1 of 11
Replacing: Jim Harbaugh
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Track record: Tomsula was the 49ers’ defensive line coach the past eight seasons. Justin Smith, Ray McDonald, Glenn Dorsey and Ian Williams all made quantum leaps with Tomsula as their coach.
Tomsula was the 49ers’ interim head coach for one game in 2010. He never was a defensive coordinator in the NFL. In 2004 and 2005, he was the defensive coordinator of the Berlin Thunder of NFL Europe, and in 2006, he was the head coach of the Rhein Fire.
Expectations: The 49ers wanted to give the head job to Chicago Bears’ offensive coordinator Adam Gase, according to Marc Sessler of NFL.com. Gase would have accepted, but the 49ers insisted he make Jim Tomsula the defensive coordinator, and Gase refused.
So the Niners gave the job to Tomusla. He was not their first choice. If the 49ers fail to make the playoffs next season, don’t be surprised if they fire him and replace him with someone who has been a successful coordinator or head coach in the NFL, someone who isn’t just a defensive line coach.
Expected grade: D
Offensive Coordinator Geep Chryst
2 of 11
Replacing: Greg Roman
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Track record: This is Chryst’s second stint as an NFL offensive coordinator. His first time was with the San Diego Chargers in 1999 and 2000. His offense ranked 26th the first season and 28th the second season, which does not reflect well on him, but it’s not an indictment of him, either. He had nothing to work with.
After he left the Chargers, Chryst went to the Arizona Cardinals to coach quarterbacks from 2001 to 2003. Then, he coached tight ends for the Carolina Panthers from 2006 to 2010. He came to the 49ers as a quarterbacks coach from 2011 to 2014.
None of the quarterbacks Chryst coached ever made a Pro Bowl. Colin Kaepernick’s numbers got consistently worse the longer he worked with Chryst.
Expectations: Chryst is a lousy quarterbacks coach. As an offensive coordinator, no one expects him to be the second coming of Mike Holmgren. But we can expect Chryst to be better than his predecessor, Roman. Roman never could figure out how to make tight end Vernon Davis a consistent contributor in the passing game, or figure out how to draw up a passing play to a running back, or figure out how to call plays quickly so the play clock doesn't expire. At the very least, Chryst should be able to fix those things.
Expected grade: C
Defensive Coordinator Eric Mangini
3 of 11
Replacing: Vic Fangio
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Track record: It feels like Eric Mangini has been around a long time, and he has, but next season will be just his second as a defensive coordinator.
His first season was in 2005 with the New England Patriots. His defense ranked 26th. The season before Mangini took over, the Patriots’ defense ranked ninth. To be fair, Pro Bowl middle linebacker Tedy Bruschi missed the first seven games of 2005 because he had a mild stroke.
From 2006 to 2008, Mangini was the head coach of the New York Jets. In 2009 and 2010, he was the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. For 2011 and 2012, he was out of football. In 2013, the 49ers hired him to be a senior offensive consultant, and in 2014, the team promoted him to tight ends coach. That year, Vernon Davis had one of the worst seasons of his career.
Expectations: Mangini replaces the great Vic Fangio, arguably the best defensive coordinator in the NFL. The Niners’ defense ranked top five every season under Fangio, no matter which players got injured or suspended.
Now, Mangini has to work around the losses of Patrick Willis, Chris Borland, Ray McDonald and possibly Justin Smith, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. Fans will expect Mangini to keep the 49ers’ defense elite, like Fangio did. But Mangini is no Fangio.
Expected grade: C
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Quarterbacks Coach Steve Logan
4 of 11
Replacing: Geep Chryst
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Track record: Logan has an impressive résumé for a quarterbacks coach who has yet to coach quarterbacks in the NFL. Logan was the head coach from 1992 to 2002 at East Carolina University, where he developed David Garrard. In 2007 and 2008, Logan was the offensive coordinator at Boston College, where he developed Matt Ryan.
In 2009, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hired him to be their running backs coach. It was Logan's first NFL job. He got fired in 2011. He has been a radio host in North Carolina the past four years.
Expectations: At 62, Logan is a bit old to be a first-time NFL quarterbacks coach. No one expects him to be great. But he would exceed expectations if he could teach Kaepernick to throw the checkdown pass. Chryst never could teach Kaepernick how to do that. The more checkdowns Kaepernick completes, the fewer sacks he would take and the higher his completion percentage would be.
Expected grade: C
Wide Receivers Coach Adam Henry
5 of 11
Replacing: John Morton
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Track record: Henry could be the best new coach on the 49ers’ staff. The Niners hired Henry from LSU, where he coached wide receivers from 2011 to 2014. He developed Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry, two of the best rookie receivers in the NFL last season.
Henry got his start coaching wide receivers at McNeese State in 1996. He worked there for 11 seasons, then became a quality control assistant for the Oakland Raiders in 2007. They promoted him to tight ends coach in 2009, and he held that position for three seasons before he went to LSU.
Expectations: Considering how good Beckham and Landry are and how bad the 49ers’ young receivers have been the past few years, expectations couldn’t be higher for Henry.
He replaces Morton, who might have been the worst wide receivers coach in the NFL the past few years. He couldn’t develop young receivers. Maybe Henry can develop Quinton Patton and Bruce Ellington, who mostly sat on the bench last season.
Expected grade: A
Tight Ends Coach Tony Sparano
6 of 11
Replacing: Eric Mangini
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Track record: You probably know Sparano as the former head coach of the Miami Dolphins and the former interim head coach of the Oakland Raiders. But he was a tight ends coach before he had those jobs.
Sparano was the Washington Redskins tight ends coach in 2001, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ tight ends coach in 2002 and then the Dallas Cowboys’ tight ends coach in 2003 and 2004. Sparano coached Jason Witten during Witten's rookie season with the Cowboys. He caught 87 passes that year.
In 2012, Sparano was the New York Jets' offensive coordinator. Sparano also has been an offensive line coach. He coached the Cleveland Browns' offensive line in 2000, the Cowboys' offensive line from 2005 to 2007 and the Raiders' offensive line in 2013 and 2014.
Even after the Raiders fired Dennis Allen last season and made Sparano the interim head coach, Sparano coached the Raiders' offensive line between series.
Expectations: Mangini had no experience or business coaching tight ends. Sparano is a significant upgrade.
Still, he has two tough tasks: revive the excellent career of Vernon Davis and salvage the disappointing career of Vance McDonald. Sparano will be successful if he accomplishes either one of those things.
Expected grade: A
Offensive Line Coach Chris Foerster
7 of 11
Replacing: Mike Solari
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Track record: This is Foerster’s second stint as the 49ers’ offensive line coach. He held the position in 2008 and 2009, and then got replaced by Mike Solari. Now, Foerster replaces the man who replaced him.
Foerster was the Washington Redskins’ offensive line coach from 2010 to 2014. He implemented a zone-blocking scheme, and the Redskins averaged 4.5 yards per carry during those five seasons.
Expectations: Foerster is a good offensive line coach, but he’s replacing the best one in the NFL. Solari signed with the Green Bay Packers. Solari was their most important addition this offseason. He is the main reason they should be favored to win the Super Bowl.
Foerster won’t have that kind of effect on the Niners, but he won’t flop, either. He was very effective coaching the zone-read running game with the Redskins' Robert Griffin and Alfred Morris. That style of offense would suit Kaepernick and Carlos Hyde very well.
Expected grade: B
Defensive Line Coach Scott Brown
8 of 11
Replacing: Jim Tomsula
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Track record: Brown was the 49ers’ Midwest regional scout the past three seasons—no joke.
Before he got into scouting, he was the defensive line coach at Arizona State in 2011. He held that job for one season. Before 2011, he had been an offensive line coach at six other colleges—Colorado State, Duke, Minnesota, TCU, Southwest Texas State and Adams State. The 62-year-old coach never has coached in the NFL.
Expectations: Fans have grown accustomed to defensive linemen improving and flourishing once they join the 49ers. That was the Tomsula Effect.
Brown doesn’t have the Tomsula Effect.
If he had it, he wouldn’t have been scouting the Midwest the past three seasons. Fans can expect Tomsula to hold Brown’s hand through 2015.
Expected grade: D
Inside Linebackers Coach Clancy Pendergast
9 of 11
Replacing: Jim Leavitt
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Track record: Pendergast has been a linebackers coach for one season—on the Cleveland Browns in 2003. He was hired by the Arizona Cardinals in 2004 to be the defensive coordinator. He was only 37. He stayed with the Cardinals for five seasons, and in his fifth season, the Cardinals went to the Super Bowl. They gave up 27 points, lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers and fired Pendergast about a week later.
Pendergast was not a coach in 2014. He was a defensive consultant for the Washington Redskins for a couple of days.
He wasn’t even a full-timer.
Expectations: Pendergast’s predecessor, Leavitt, was the head coach at the University of South Florida from 1996 to 2009 before the 49ers hired him in 2011. Now, Leavitt is the defensive coordinator at the University of Colorado. He is in demand, unlike Pendergast, who was unemployed last year.
Now, Pendergast has been thrown into one of the most difficult jobs on the 49ers’ coaching staff.
Inside linebackers Patrick Willis and Chris Borland have retired, and NaVorro Bowman is recovering from a torn ACL and MCL. The only healthy inside linebackers on the roster are Michael Wilhoite and Nick Moody. If only Pendergast can get them to play decently, he will meet expectations.
Expected grade: C
Secondary Coach Tim Lewis
10 of 11
Replacing: Ed Donatell
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Track record: Lewis broke into the NFL as a defensive backs coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1995. From 2000 to 2003, he was the Steelers’ defensive coordinator, and from 2004 to 2006, he was the New York Giants’ defensive coordinator.
The past five seasons, he was the secondary coach for the Atlanta Falcons, where he helped develop cornerback Desmond Trufant, one of the best young corners in the NFL.
Expectations: The 49ers wanted Perry Fewell to be the secondary coach, not Lewis, according to Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee. Fewell was the New York Giants’ defensive coordinator from 2010 to 2014. This offseason, Fewell decided to take a job coaching defensive backs for the Washington Redskins, not the 49ers.
Lewis is the 49ers’ consolation prize. He replaces Donatell, one of the best secondary coaches in the NFL. Donatell could turn castoffs into solid starters. Lewis is good, but he’s not that good. No secondary coach works magic like Donatell.
Expected grade: B
Senior Defensive Assistant/Outside Linebackers Coach Jason Tarver
11 of 11
Replacing: No one
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Track record: Tarver was the 49ers’ outside linebackers coach from 2005 to 2010. He developed Manny Lawson and Parys Haralson.
Then, Tarver became the defensive coordinator for Stanford in 2011. He developed Trent Murphy and Chase Thomas.
From 2012 to 2014, Tarver was the defensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders. During his final season in Oakland, he developed rookie outside linebacker Khalil Mack, a rising star.
Tarver is only 40 years old.
Expectations: Mangini needs all the help he can get. Tarver, a former defensive coordinator, should be a key resource for him as Mangini's senior defensive assistant. That's part of Tarver's title.
He will coach outside linebackers, as well, meaning he will coach Aldon Smith and Aaron Lynch. Tarver has the talent to turn them into the best duo of outside linebackers in the NFL.
Tarver also will coach outside linebackers Ahmad Brooks and Corey Lemonier. Brooks was out of shape in 2014, and Lemonier has been a complete bust. If anyone can get something out of those two next season, it's Tarver.
Expected grade: A
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