The 49ers on Wednesday added a box to their offseason checklist when they parted ways with defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. Filling that vacancy now becomes their top priority and it may be a huge key in helping the team get back to a Super Bowl after losing one – a nigh impossible feat.
Shanahan said the team will look at both internal and external candidates for the job, which leaves a massive pool to choose from. However, that pool will be narrowed by Shanahan’s defensive philosophy and what he’s expecting from his new DC.
Here are 10 candidates that the 49ers could (and probably should) look at:
Bill Belichick
“‘You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take’ – Wayne Gretzky” – Michael Scott.
Brandon Staley
It didn’t work out for Staley as a head coach with the Chargers, but his defensive brilliance under Sean McVay with the Rams helped him get the lead job with the other team in Los Angeles. A DC job is likely ahead for Staley if he wants to get back into the mix as a head coach candidate, and joining a loaded defense like San Francisco’s makes a lot of sense.
Daniel Bullocks
Bullocks is the 49ers’ secondary coach. Keeping familiarity with the players in that position group would help, and Bullocks has plenty of familiarity with what the 49ers want to do defensively. He’s been with the team since Shanahan arrived as the head coach, working as an assistant defensive backs coach, safeties coach and secondary coach.
Kris Kocurek
Kocurek is another internal candidate who may or may not have aspirations as a defensive coordinator. He does a heck of a job with the defensive line though and he’s been with the club since 2019 so he’s in tune with the type of DC Shanahan is looking for. Perhaps Kocurek doesn’t want to run the defense, but he’d certainly be a logical fit and he’ll play a role in the hiring process regardless given how important he is to the team.
Dave Merritt
The 49ers aren’t going to be able to steal Steve Spagnuolo away from the Chiefs, but getting one of his assistants might be on the table. Merritt has 27 years of NFL experience and five years of experience as a defensive backs coach with Kansas City. The Chiefs produced some very good secondary play and his familiarity with Spagnuolo’s blitzes and coverage schemes could help the 49ers regain their footing defensively while also establishing a different type of identity.
Aubrey Pleasant
Pleasant is an interesting candidate. He’s had two stints with the Rams, including one that started when Sean McVay arrived in 2017 as their head coach. He was the cornerbacks coach there for four seasons before jumping over the Lions where worked as a defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator. He rejoined the Rams in 2023 as their defensive backs coach and pass game coordinator. Shanahan has some familiarity with Pleasant, who was an offensive assistant when they were both with Washington in 2013. Pleasant for his final three seasons in Washington was a defensive quality control coach.
Aaron Curry
If the 49ers are looking for a rising star type of candidate like they found in Robert Saleh and DeMeco Ryans, Curry might be their guy. He was an assistant with Seattle for four years under Pete Carroll where he coached linebackers and the defensive line. In 2023 he coached inside linebackers for Mike Tomlin’s Steelers. Shanahan likes the Carroll defensive system so Curry’s familiarity with that, plus his youth (37-years old), playing experience as a linebacker, and spending last year under Tomlin could make him an intriguing candidate for Shanahan.
Michael Hodges
Hodges is another former LB who now coaches LBs. He’s been with the New Orleans Saints since 2017 and in that time has had a rapid rise up the coaching ranks. He was a defensive assistant in 2017, then became the assistant linebackers coach in 2019 before his promotion to linebackers coach in 2020. Since 2017 the Saints have never had a defense finish worse than 14th in points allowed, and since 2020 they’ve not finished below ninth in that category with a pair of top-five finishes. Hiring out of a defensive staff that gets that kind of production makes a ton of sense for San Francisco.
Tem Lukabu
The 49ers know Lukabu a little bit. He was on Chip Kelly’s staff as a defensive quality control coach in 2016, and then he stuck around as a defensive QC coach under Shanahan in 2017. In 2019 he hopped on the Bengals’ coaching staff as a linebackers coach, and then in 2020 became Boston College’s defensive coordinator where he had a successful three year run. Last season he became the Panthers’ outside linebackers coach under star defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero.
Jerome Henderson
Henderson has been in the NFL for a long time after first joining the Jets as a director of player development in 2006. His background is a lot like Steve Wilks’ in that he’s primarily been a defensive backs coach. However, Henderson was with the Falcons while Shanahan was there in 2016, and he spent four years in Atlanta under head coach Dan Quinn as a passing game coordinator and secondary coach. Quinn runs the type of defense Shanahan prefers, so Henderson’s familiarity with that scheme could make him a strong candidate.
