Darryl Tapp is in his third season as the 49ers assistant defensive line coach. He joined the 49ers after spending the 2020 season as the co-defensive line coach at Virginia Tech.
In 2022, the 49ers defense ranked first overall in the NFL in total yards per game (300.6) and points allowed per game (16.3). The team also finished second with 77.7 rushing yards allowed per game. San Francisco's defense held its opponents to 277 points on the season, the fewest in the NFL and the lowest surrendered by a 49ers team since 2013. Tapp, along with defensive line coach Kris Kocurek, coached DL Nick Bosa, who was named Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Year after leading the NFL with a career-high 18.5 sacks.
Tapp and the 49ers defense ranked third in the NFL in 2021, allowing 310.0 total yards per game. San Francisco also was sixth in the NFL, surrendering 206.5 passing yards per game. The Niners forced 22 fumbles on defense in 2021, the most in the NFL and the most in a single season by the 49ers since 1994. DL Nick Bosa finished the season leading the team with a career-high 15.5 sacks. His sack total ranked fourth in the NFL among all players as he was selected to the Pro Bowl. Tapp also worked closely with DL Arden Key, who registered a career-high 6.5 sacks on the year.
The 2020 Hokies defense finished the year with 36.0 sacks, as DL Amaré Barno and DL Justus Reed tied for the team lead with 6.5 sacks apiece. Barno, who transitioned from linebacker to the defensive line that season, also added 43 tackles, 16.0 tackles for loss, two passes defensed, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery and earned Honorable Mention All-ACC honors.
Tapp joined Virginia Tech after spending the 2019 season as a special teams quality control coach at Vanderbilt University. The Commodores punt team averaged 42.2 yards per punt, with the field goal units connecting on 10 of 12 attempts on the season. He first entered the collegiate coaching ranks at Central Michigan University in 2018, where he was a defensive quality control coach. The CMU defense allowed an average of 27.3 points per game that season and registered 29.0 sacks and 12 fumble recoveries. DL Mike Danna led the team with 9.5 sacks to go along with 66 tackles, three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and one pass defensed and earned First-Team All-Mid-American honors.
Prior to his time at Central Michigan, Tapp began coaching as an intern with the New Orleans Saints in 2017. Working with the team's defensive line, Tapp saw DE Cameron Jordan set a then-career high with 13.0 sacks to go along with 11 passes defensed which were the most in the NFL among defensive linemen. Jordan was selected to the Pro Bowl and was named Associated Press First-Team All-Pro for the first time in his career.
Tapp was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round (63rd overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft. Throughout his 12-year NFL career with the Seahawks (2006-09), Philadelphia Eagles (2010-12), Washington Football Team (2013), Detroit Lions (2014-15), New Orleans Saints (2016) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2017), he appeared in 165 games (39 starts) and registered 316 tackles, 29.0 sacks, 20 passes defensed, 11 forced fumbles, 10 fumble recoveries and two interceptions (one returned for a touchdown). He also appeared in six postseason contests (two starts) and added 15 tackles, 2.0 sacks and two forced fumbles.
A native of Chesapeake, VA, Tapp spent four years (2002-05) at Virginia Tech, where he appeared in 53 games and registered 187 tackles and 23.5 sacks and earned a degree in marketing. He was inducted into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2018. He is married to his wife, Tiffany, and has one daughter, Taylor, and one son, Duece.
