Deommodore Lenoir's eye-catching comments suggest 49ers' coaching hire will prove a masterstroke

The San Francisco 49ers hired Brandon Staley as an assistant on their staff with his stock at a low ebb following the end of his Los Angeles Chargers tenure.

Staley was fired by the Chargers last December after a 5-9 start to the 2023 season, with his expertise as a defensive coach failing to help Los Angeles on that side of the ball. The Chargers surrendered 375.3 net yards per game between Week 1 and Week 15, the fourth-most in the NFL.

But having been given a chance to work with the 49ers, with his focus primarily being assisting a defense led by a new first-time coordinator Nick Sorensen , Staley is already demonstrating to his new players why he had a reputation as a defensive guru prior to his spell with the Chargers.

And he has made a big impression on 49ers starting cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, whom Staley has appeared to offer a lot of one-on-one coaching during training camp.

Asked about Staley in a press conference following Tuesday's practice, Lenoir said of Staley: "He's a genius. I really respect him as a coach, as a person. The joy he brings to our room and with just the knowledge of teaching us so many things. It's a blessing to have him here."

Lenoir has a critical role to play on the 49er defense as he could again be asked to rotate between outside corner on base downs and the slot on nickel downs.

And he believes the coaching Staley has offered to this point has put him in an excellent position to build on an extremely impressive 2023.

Pressed for a specific example of how Staley has helped him, Lenoir replied: "Playing the angles of football and playing the percentages, he kind of told me the percentages of you getting a fade every down, it's less likely so why would you play that at the start of the downs? Actually think when you're out there, you've already got the talent, just use your brain and the plays will come."

The plays are already coming in training camp for Lenoir, who had a pick-six of Brock Purdy in the second team period in practice.

Lenoir will hope that is a harbinger of what is to follow in a contract year and, if Staley's influence can help elicit overall improvement from a defense that last season took a slight step back from its 2022 zenith under DeMeco Ryans, a hire that raised some eyebrows when it was made will end up being regarded as a masterstroke.

Related: 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy receives the respect he deserves from his peers around the NFL