Greg Scruggs is entering his second season as the 49ers assistant defensive line coach.
In 2025, Scruggs assisted a defensive line unit that helped the 49ers defense post the 11th-ranked rushing defense (107.8 rushing yards per game) and the 13th-ranked scoring defense (21.8 points per game). He helped aid the development of three rookie contributors in DL Alfred Collins, DL C.J. West and DL Mykel Williams. Collins finished the season with 17 tackles, two passes defensed, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and 1.0 sack. His two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries were both tied for the most among rookies in the NFL. In 14 appearances, West registered 21 tackles and 1.0 sack, while Williams started in nine games and registered 20 tackles, 1.0 sack and one fumble recovery.
Scruggs joined the 49ers after serving one season (2023) as the defensive line coach for the University of Wisconsin. The 2023 Wisconsin Badgers defense allowed the sixth-fewest points per game (20.2) in the Big 10. Under Scruggs' guidance, the Badgers defense also ranked eighth in opponent passing yards per game allowed (210.6) in the Big 10.
Prior to his time at Wisconsin, Scruggs spent one season (2022) as the assistant defensive line coach for the New York Jets. Under Scruggs' guidance, the Jets finished the 2022 season ranking fourth in yards per game allowed (311.1), third in passing yards per game allowed (189.4) and tied for the seventh-most sacks (45) in the NFL. He worked with AP First-Team All-Pro DT Quinnen Williams (12.0 sacks), DE Carl Lawson (7.0 sacks) and DE John Franklin-Myers (5.0 sacks). The Jets also ranked fourth in total scoring defense, allowing 18.6 points per game.
Before his NFL coaching career, Scruggs was the defensive line coach for two seasons (2020-21) at the University of Cincinnati following two years as the program's director of player development (2018-19). His tenure as defensive line coach included an appearance in the Cotton Bowl as part of the 2021 College Football Playoffs Semifinal. He saw the Bearcats go 22-2 in that span and finished both years ranked in the top 10. In 2021, his line was a key part of a defense that ranked fifth nationally in scoring defense (16.5) and 10th in total defense (318.4), after finishing the season with the second-most sacks in the American Athletic Conference (39.0). While serving as the director of player development and NFL liaison for two seasons, Scruggs mentored players and managed many of the program's off-the-field initiatives, including community service efforts. Before that, he worked with the NFL's Legends Development Program in player marketing and communications.
Scruggs was originally drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the seventh-round (232nd overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft. A two-time Super Bowl champion (XLVIII-Seattle & LI-New England), Scruggs spent five years in the NFL with the Seahawks (2012-15), Chicago Bears (2015-16) and New England Patriots (2016), where he appeared in 18 games as a defensive lineman and tight end.
A defensive lineman at the University of Louisville (2008-11), Scruggs appeared in 42 games (26 starts) where he registered 61 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 8.0 sacks, three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and one interception. He currently serves on the international board of directors and as a national spokesperson for Boys Hope Girls Hope, an organization centered on cultivating youth empowerment through the education. In 2020, he appeared in 'Black Boys,' a feature-length documentary about what it means to be born a black male in America. Scruggs and his wife, Christina, have two children: son, Avery, and daughter, Aubrey.
