Welker transitions smoothly to coach, guide wide receivers
Wes Welker had just finished his second year working as an assistant for the Houston Texans when he received a call from San Francisco 49ers coach
Kyle Shanahan.
The 49ers’ wide receivers coach position had opened up. Welker, three years removed from his 12-year NFL career that saw him go from undrafted to one of the league’s top slot receivers, was the club’s top candidate.
“Obviously, he’s an extremely talented guy but he worked at it and understands football so well,” Shanahan said. “That’s what made him great. When I heard he got into coaching, I was intrigued.
“After we interviewed him, we didn’t have to interview anyone else.”
Shanahan knew what Welker brought to the table — a wealth of knowledge, an analytical mind, a player still in touch with today’s game who can connect with the players he is grooming.
Players quickly gravitated to one of the more successful receivers from this generation, a player with 903 career catches, 9,924 yards and 50 touchdowns.
And it has all resulted in Welker returning to a familiar place: the Super Bowl, where San Francisco will face the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium.
Welker hopes his first Super Bowl as a coach works out better than any of the three he was in as a player, though. Despite catching 26 passes for 247 yards in those three trips to the NFL’s championship game, Welker always left without a ring. Two losses with the Patriots, a third with the Broncos.
“I’ll let you know how this one plays out,” he said with a laugh.
Regardless, the one-time Miami Dolphin, whose career took off shortly after Miami traded him to the New England Patriots, has quickly left his mark on the 49ers.
He helped Deebo Samuel develop into one of the top rookie receivers in the league this season. Samuel, a second-round pick out of South Carolina, finished fourth in the league among first-year players with 802 receiving yards in the regular season.
“It’s just a blessing in disguise with the things he did in the league and the things he’s accomplished and the knowledge he passes down in the room,” Samuel said. “He’s a guy that can teach you and show you what to do instead of just telling you how to do it.”
Welker’s potential to be an effective coach was apparent to Emmanuel Sanders in 2014, when the two were teammates on the Broncos.
“He was way beyond his years as a player the way he saw the field,” Sanders said. “Sometimes I’d get locked in to running my route. Wes was more focused on coverages and pointing out that ‘this defensive end is doing this.’ I’m like, ‘I don’t care what he’s doing.’ He still the same way.”
Welker always thought in the back of his mind that becoming a coach would be a possibility once his playing career ended but was never an ultimate end goal.
The right situation at the right time presented itself and he took advantage of it.
“I wouldn’t say that I was preparing myself to do it. I was always focused on being the best player I could be at the time,” Welker said. “I just never knew what level I was probably going to coach at when I ended up doing it, but I’m excited about the opportunity to be here.”
Now he has seen how the behind-the-scenes work goes into effect:
How a substitution here or there can impact a play.
When to make a lastsecond audible.
How to craft a specific game plan for any given practice.
And, ultimately, hoping the decisions he makes are the right ones.
“I think coaching is a lot more mentally taxing where playing is a lot more physically taxing,” Welker said. “Maybe a little mentally too. It’s probably a little more exciting as a player just because I was playing. The only control I have is making sure the guys are prepared. Hopefully, they go out there and play the way I want them to play.”
And then there are moments like the 49ers’ NFC Championship Game victory over the Green Bay Packers, one in which San Francisco asked quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to pass the ball just eight times as the running game dominated from start to finish.
Welker saw no frustration from his group. Quite the opposite actually.
“That was pretty incredible,” Welker said.
“All the big guys up front and the running backs, they did a heck of a job. Shoot, man. It was pretty cool. I was worried the receivers [were] getting pissed off, but they were having so much fun blocking people and getting to the Super Bowl. It was really a cool moment to see.”
Another cool moment could come on Sunday if the 49ers can beat the Chiefs.
“Just go out there and make sure the players are on top of everything,” Welker said. “It comes to a point where we can’t get it wrong.”
Jordan McPherson: 305-376-2129, @J_McPherson1126