When Bill Walsh was promoted to the front office in 1989, longtime defensive coordinator George Seifert was chosen to fill his head coaching role.
Twenty-seven years later, the San Francisco 49ers this week hired former Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil to the same position.
Here is the complete timeline for how the 49ers over the years transitioned from Seifert all the way to O'Neil.
1989-1993
DC: Bill McPherson
Rank in points: 3rd, 2nd, 4th, 3rd, 16th
Rank in yards: 4th, 3rd, 6th, 15th, 15th
W-L: 62-18
1994
DC: Ray Rhodes
Rank in points: 6th
Rank in yards: 8th
W-L: 13-3
1995-1996
DC: Pete Carroll
Rank in points: 2nd, 4th
Rank in yards: 1st, 7th
W-L: 23-9
1997-1998
DC: John Marshall
**
Mike Holmgren, Mike Shanahan, Jeff Fisher, Pete Carroll and others all once graced the San Francisco sideline.
George Seifert, Bill Walsh
Rank in points:** 3rd, 13th
Rank in yards: 1st, 23rd
W-L: 25-7
1999-2003
DC: Jim Mora
Rank in points: 30th, 28th, 9th, 18th, 21st
Rank in yards: 28th, 29th, 13th, 14th, 13th
W-L: 39-41
2004
DC: Willy Robinson
Rank in points: 32nd
Rank in yards: 24th
W-L: 2-14
2005-2006
DC: Bill Davis
Rank in points: 30th, 32nd
Rank in yards: 32nd, 26th
W-L: 11-21
2007-2010
DC: Greg Manusky
**
Rank in points:** 20th, 23rd, 4th, 16th
Rank in yards: 25th, 13th, 15th, 13th
W-L: 26-38
2011-2014
DC: Vic Fangio
Rank in points: 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 10th
Rank in yards: 4th, 3rd, 5th, 5th
W-L: 44-19-1
2015
DC: Eric Mangini
Rank in points: 18th
Rank in yards: 29th
W-L: 5-11
2016-Present
DC: Jim O'Neil
Rank in points: TBD
Rank in yards: TBD
W-L: TBD
Stats from Pro-Football-Reference.com. Additional research provided by former 49ers.com digital editor Andrew Pentis.
