Kyle Shanahan breaks down sneaky hire for 49ers coaching staff

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - AUGUST 16: Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus looks on during the second half of the NFL Preseason 2025 game against the Baltimore Ravens at AT&T Stadium on August 16, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images) | Getty Images The San Francisco 49ers made a couple of changes this offseason with their coaching staff, primarily due to departures. The biggest loss was defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who was hired as the Tennessee Titans head coach.

Saleh took top defensive assistant Gus Bradley with him. San Francisco responded with a splash, hiring Raheem Morris as their defensive coordinator following his stint as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Morris has familiarity with head coach Kyle Shanahan across multiple stops, and will hopefully provide some stability for the 49ers, who are on their fifth defensive coordinator in five years.

But one of the more under-the-radar hires for San Francisco was Matt Eberflus as the team’s assistant head coach of the defense. Last offseason, the 49ers went with the same structure, hiring Saleh as their defensive coordinator and a veteran coach with coordinator experience in Bradley as the assistant head coach of the defense. Bradley had a key role with the 49ers, with many players praising him during the season.

But rather than staying in San Francisco, he followed Saleh to Tennessee as the Titans defensive coordinator. So the 49ers went after another veteran coach who has seen success and struggles as a defensive coordinator, hiring Matt Eberflus, who was let go after one year as the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator in 2025. Eberflus, 55, was the head coach of the Chicago Bears from 2022 to 2024 after a successful stint as the defensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts from 2018 to 2021.