The 49ers introduced defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen to media Friday afternoon. The under-the-radar, internal candidate comes with plenty of unknowns, but attempted to resolve some of those questions, including about what role Brandon Staley will play in the defense.
Brandon Staley’s role
After a protracted search for a defensive coordinator, the 49ers landed on Sorensen, but also brought in former Chargers head coach Brandon Staley as the assistant head coach. So, who, exactly, is running the ship?
That’s going to be a point of contention throughout the year, whether results are positive or negative. Staley was heavily involved with the 49ers’ free agent activity from the jump, with former Los Angeles Rams edge rusher Leonard Floyd rejoining Staley in Santa Clara.
Sorensen - who has also, obviously, been involved in free agency and draft preparations - was effusive in praise of the former Rams defensive coordinator. He pointed to Staley having far more experience than him, and that being an asset. Here’s how Sorensen described Staley’s role:
“So he sees things holistically. He knows how to build plans, and then just getting him in here and spending extra hours and just talking to football with him, he's very bright and is really a humble guy who's smart and knows football and that's been really awesome and helpful for me.
“... He's been kind of helping me overall. He's been involved with pretty much everything, as far as here, we did this. I've been kind of talking him through how we play certain things, watching stuff throughout the league and what other teams do, some of the things that he did, that, would this fit, would it not fit in our defense?
“And some things I was already familiar with, with just watching different defenses you naturally see other defenses and things. He'd been more connected with the DBs and then nickels, but he also has experience elsewhere with D-Ends and outside linebackers. With the staff that we have, I think for me, it's going to just be really helpful that he's done it before and he's had success and he's been a coach as well.”
In short, Staley is heavily involved. But Sorensen will be the one calling plays on Sundays, and will be on the sideline. He said he feels more comfortable there, and appreciates the ability to look players in the eye. It’s not yet been decided whether Staley will be on the sideline or in the booth.
Thoughts on Green, Mustapha
While Renardo Green lined up mostly outside in rookie minicamp practice on Friday, Sorensen said he will get the bulk of his work, at least early on, at nickel.
That doesn’t necessarily seem to be an indictment of Green’s ability on the outside. Nickel, though, is largely new to him, and the 49ers want to establish some comfort there as early as possible.
“We'll bring him along starting inside and see what we can do in there,” Sorensen said. “I think that's something that if you can retain it, you want to learn it earlier than trying. We know what DMo can do. Also, Sammy Womack’s done a really good job here these last couple of weeks. So has Kemon Hall.
"So I feel like there's a lot of good competition everywhere at every position. He’ll get some work outside, but we want to also train him up because like I said, versatility. You only have a certain amount of guys that can dress on game day and you just always have to have enough guys that can fill in if you have injuries or something like that.”
Elsewhere on the defense is a front office favorite, Malik Mustapha. He’s a hard-hitting, muscled-up safety with superb athleticism.
The 49ers loved their interviews with him. Sorensen said he’s a heady player.
“When you see it on tape, you know it's real. It's our type of guy,” Sorensen said. “...The interview was really good. Sometimes it's hard, sometimes it's a short amount of time. Sometimes you can feel like this is this super rehearsed? And you kind of have to figure people out. But it seemed like he really knew what he was talking about and could explain certain things and it wasn't just about memorizing this or that. He kind of bounced back and forth in the conversation, seemed like real football talk.”
Other notes
- The four-man "bread and butter" front isn’t going anywhere
- Sorensen acknowledged the run defense last year had issues, but expressed a pretty blunt confidence that it would be corrected.
- De’Vondre Campbell sounds, as expected, like the plug-in option until Dre Greenlaw returns
- Sorensen's calling cards are "Speed, violence and finish."
- The 49ers do work over the offseason on assessing offensive trends. Sorensen said that once it gets into draft preparation, coaches start on that sort of work: "You start to do little projects that are evaluating what's happening in the league. And we give sections to different coaches and we're continually watching it and always like I said. You try and learn, you try and evolve to try and win games."
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