Kyle Shanahan was named the 20th head coach of the San Francisco 49ers on February 6, 2017. Shanahan signed a multi-year contract extension with the 49ers on June 15, 2020.
Shanahan and the 2022 49ers finished with a 13-4 regular season record, including wins in each of their last 10 games and a NFC West title. San Francisco earned a berth in the NFC Championship Game following a pair of home playoff game victories over the Seattle Seahawks and Dallas Cowboys. The Niners saw four AP First-Team All-Pro selections in DL Nick Bosa, S Talanoa Hufanga, LB Fred Warner and T Trent Williams, as well as two AP Second-Team All-Pro selections in TE George Kittle and S George Odum (special teamer). Bosa was named Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year after leading the NFL with a career-high 18.5 sacks.
Chris Foerster is in his second season as the team’s run game coordinator/offensive line coach after spending the 2021 season as San Francisco’s offensive line coach. He also worked as the team’s offensive line coach from 2008-09 and 2015. Foerster spent the 2020 season as the 49ers assistant offensive line coach after serving as a consultant with the 49ers for two seasons (2018-19).
In 2022, the 49ers offensive line went five games without allowing a sack, matching the most registered by the 49ers in a single season since 1980 (2000). T Trent Williams was selected to his 10th Pro Bowl and earned Associated Press First-Team All-Pro honors for the second-consecutive season. The 2022 49ers offense averaged 5.94 yards per play, which ranked fourth in the NFL.
Brian Schneider is in his second season as the 49ers special teams coordinator. He joined the 49ers after more than 12 years of experience as a special teams coordinator in the NFL.
In his first season leading San Francisco’s special teams in 2022, Schneider saw K Robbie Gould connect on 27 of his 32 field goal attempts and 50 of his 51 extra point attempts, marking the 11th season of his career with at least an 80-percent field goal percentage and a 95-percent extra point percentage. Gould hit on a 23-yard field goal in overtime in Week 17 (at Las Vegas) to help the Niners win their first game at Allegiant Stadium. P Mitch Wishnowsky averaged 39.7 net yards per punt and finished the year with the highest percentage of punts inside the 20-yard line (52.5) in the NFL. Wishnowsky was also named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month (September) for the second time in his career. WR Ray-Ray McCloud III finished the season ranked second in the NFL in punt return yards with 356.
Sorensen enters his third season with the 49ers in 2024 after spending the previous two years with the team as the defensive passing game specialist/nickels (2023) and defensive assistant (2022).
Over the last two seasons (2022-23), San Francisco’s defense has held opposing offenses to the fewest rushing yards per game (83.7) and the third-fewest total yards per game (302.3) in the NFL. In each of the previous two seasons, the team has led the league in interceptions. The team’s 42 interceptions during that span are the most in the NFL. In 2023, Sorensen worked closely with CB Charvarius Ward, helping him earn AP Second-Team All-Pro honors and the first Pro Bowl selection of his career. Ward led the NFL with 23 passes defensed and was the only player in the NFL with 70-or-more tackles, five-or-more interceptions and 20-or-more passes defensed.