Source: 49ers promote Sorensen to DC, hire Staley
SANTA CLARA, CALIF. » The San Francisco 49ers have promoted assistant Nick Sorensen to defensive coordinator and hired former Los Angeles Chargers coach Brandon Staley for a role on the team’s staff, a person familiar with the hirings told The Associated Press.
The person confirmed the hirings to the AP on condition of anonymity Saturday.
The Niners had been looking for a defensive coordinator since firing Steve Wilks three days after losing the Super Bowl.
San Francisco’s defense ranked third in points allowed in the first season with Wilks in charge in place of DeMeco Ryans.
But Wilks struggled to adapt to the system head coach Kyle Shanahan wanted to use and the defense struggled all season against the run and came up short in the playoff.
The Niners were the first team to fire an offensive or defensive coordinator after losing the Super Bowl since Atlanta fired defensive coordinator Richard Smith after blowing a 28-3 lead to New England in Super Bowl 51. Shanahan was the offensive coordinator for the Falcons in that game.
Commutation criticized
KANSAS CITY, MO. » Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s commutation of former Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid’s prison sentence came under harsh criticism, with Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker saying Parson freed a man of “status, privilege and connections.”
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, a Republican running for governor, called the decision “not a good look” for Parson.
Reid, the son of Andy Reid, was convicted of driving while intoxicated and causing a crash that severely injured a 5-year-old girl in 2021. He had been serving a three-year prison sentence but will now remain under house arrest through October 2025.
Steelers’ Russell dies
PITTSBURGH » Andy Russell, the standout linebacker who was an integral part of the Steelers’ evolution from perennial losers to champions, has died. He was 82.
The team confirmed Russell’s death on Saturday. There was no immediate word on the cause or place of death.
A 16th-round pick in the 1963 draft, Russell won two Super Bowls during a 12-year career interrupted by a two-year stint in the military. Russell spent 10 years as a team captain and was named to the Pro Bowl seven times.