ATLANTA – Coach Kyle Shanahan was not expecting to account for so many coaching departures after a season in which the 49ers fell far below expectations.
Shanahan said Friday at the Super Bowl that he expects to have his complete coaching staff finalized next week after a number of his assistants moved on for better positions on other staffs.
“It was a little unexpected,” Shanahan said during an appearance on KNBR. “I didn’t think our staff was going to get raided after a 4-12 year, so that caught me off a little bit
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“A lot of guys tried to take a bunch of guys on the staff, and it was well-deserved. Some guys got to move on, and I had to keep some guys here. But I had to deal with that for a lot of January, but I think in the long run, we’re going to end up being better off.”
Shanahan confirmed an NBC Sports Bay Area report from this week that the club will hire Shane Day to replace Rich Scangarello as quarterbacks coach. New Denver Broncos coach Vic Fangio hired Scangarello to be his offensive coordinator. The Broncos also hired T.C. McCartney, formerly a 49ers quality control coach, to be their quarterbacks coach.
Day, 44, has worked 10 NFL seasons, including his first three offensive quality control coach with the 49ers from 2007 to 2009 under Mike Nolan. He worked with quarterbacks, running backs and offensive line during his time seasons with the 49ers. Day has served under Mike Martz and, the past three seasons, as tight ends coach with the Miami Dolphins under Adam Gase.
Shanahan said he put Day through a long interview in Mobile, Alabama, during the week of the Senior Bowl. Day will spend a lot of time learning the 49ers' offense before the club reports back for the offseason program in mid-April.
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“He has a lot of knowledge about the quarterback game,” Shanahan said. “I’m going to sit him down here over the next couple of months and I’m really going to teach him our system, what we like to do and the way we like to do it.
“He’s a very smart guy and he’s capable of soaking in a lot of information, and he’s going to have a lot of his own ideas to bring to the table. We’re going to put him in a crash course of learning here over the next couple of months. And when the players get in and we’re allowed to talk to them, he’ll be allowed to take over right where Rich left off.”
The 49ers this offseason also lost defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley (co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State) and assistant offensive line coach Adam Stenavich (Green Bay offensive line coach). The 49ers hired Joe Woods as passing game coordinator/defensive backs, and fired defensive line coach Jeff Zgonina to bring aboard well-respected line coach Kris Kocurek.
The 49ers denied permission for passing game coordinator Mike LaFleur (Green Bay and Minnesota) and run game coordinator Mike McDaniel (Arizona) to interview for offensive coordinator positions -- spots that Shanahan deemed as lateral moves.
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In another 49ers staff development, assistant strength and conditioning coach Shane Wallen this week accepted a position as a strength and conditioning coach with the Chicago Cubs. Wallen was instrumental in raising awareness and funds for victims of the Camp Fire in Paradise, where he grew up. Wallen’s father’s home was destroyed in the fire, which displaced thousands of people in the community.
In a message posted on social media, Wallen thanked the 49ers, general manager John Lynch and Shanahan “for affording me the opportunity to come back home and coach for the team I grew up watching, for supporting my hometown through such a devastating time.”