The San Francisco 49ers are hiring Ben Peterson away from the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL to oversee their medical and training staffs, according to Matt Barrows of the Athletic.
A specific title for Peterson’s role is not stated but his title with the Flyers had been Director of Sports Science and Performance.
The 49ers fired their strength and conditioning staff last month. Peterson’s addition is part of their restructuring of the department after numerous injuries setback the team in each of the last two seasons.
“It’s been too big of a deal for two years,” Shanahan said of the injuries at the end of the season. “Injuries are pretty random, but it’s also affected us huge. So that’s something that we definitely have to sit back and really look at it from all angles and put a lot of time into. Just try to find a better perspective at it.”
Peterson’s LinkedIn page describes himself as having “a proven track record of developing effective performance teams; integrating strength and conditioning, sports medicine, physical therapy, and nutrition. Skilled in communicating data driven insights to stakeholders in different departments to take decisive action and improve team performance. Extensive background in sport performance technology (hardware and software), analytics, and exercise physiology.”