The San Francisco 49ers officially have another coaching staff departure. This time it is quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello, who is leaving the team to become the offensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos under head coach Vic Fangio, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Broncos officially hired former 49ers' QB Rich Scangarello as their offensive coordinator, per source. Scangarello will be Denver's play caller.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 16, 2019
In an effort to keep the coaching staff together, head coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers had initially blocked the request to interview Scangarello.
"The 49ers initially blocked the Broncos' attempt to interview Scangarello, but the two sides did eventually come to an agreement," reported Mike Klis of 9News in the Denver area.
The 49ers are expected to search in-house for a replacement for Scangarello, according to NBC Sports Bay Area.
Scangarello spent two seasons in San Francisco, joining the team during Shanahan's first offseason. He served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Wagner College before joining the 49ers.
"With the addition of Rich Scangarello as our offensive coordinator, we're getting an experienced coach who was a trusted and valued assistant with Kyle Shanahan for three seasons," Fangio said via a statement. "He worked wonders with all the quarterbacks who started for San Francisco during the previous two years as quarterbacks coach. With his background and knowledge, it's the perfect time for Rich to be an offensive coordinator in the NFL. I find this opportunity for Rich very similar to when I first became a defensive coordinator many years ago, and he is ready to take this step in his career."
Scangarello also spent a season as the offensive quality control coach with the Atlanta Falcons and, before that, as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Northern Arizona University.
"Scangarello shares the same agent as Broncos head coach Vic Fangio, which is how he initially got on Denver's radar," wrote Klis. "He also fit with Broncos general manager John Elway's offseason goal of pairing the 32-year NFL defensive coaching veteran Fangio with a younger offensive coordinator familiar with the innovative, college offensive systems."
Scangarello entered the NFL in 2009 as an offensive quality control and assistant quarterbacks coach with the Oakland Raiders.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported in December that Scangarello's name was emerging among NFL circles as a potential offensive coordinator candidate.
The 49ers have already denied requests to interview wide receivers/passing game coordinator Mike LaFleur and run-game coordinator Mike McDaniel. LaFleur was being pursued by the Green Bay Packers, where his older brother, Matt LaFleur, was recently named the head coach. The Arizona Cardinals were pursuing McDaniel. Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area believes either could be an in-house option to replace Scangarello.
Scangarello is credited for being a big reason why quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was able to start after only a month with the 49ers in 2017. He went on to win each of his five starts that season with San Francisco.
"Rich doesn't get enough credit in my opinion," Garoppolo told reporters before the 49ers' final game of 2017. "There's a lot of moving pieces, but Rich has been with me since I first got here. Literally the first day I walked in here, we were going over stuff after I did all the interviews and whatnot."
Quarterback Nick Mullens, who started eight games this past season, is also a fan of Scangarello. If not for him, Mullens may not have found his way to San Francisco or the NFL.
"Coach Scangarello, he pretty much found me," Mullens said in December. "I was at East-West Shrine game in [St. Petersburg, Florida] and I guess he liked the things that I did in that game and in those practices. And then he followed up with me with a phone call after that.
"Then I took a visit here to the facility in [Santa Clara, California]. The 49ers showed me the most interest all the way through the draft process. So, in the sixth round, they gave me a call, said they wanted to sign me as a free agent."
Scangarello is the second coach to willingly leave Shanahan's staff. Defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley left the 49ers to become the co-defensive coordinator of Ohio State's football team.
Some of the 49ers' assistants were not given choices. The team reportedly fired defensive line coach Jeff Zgonina, head strength and conditioning coach Ray Wright, and long-time head athletic trainer Jeff Ferguson after Shanahan said on December 31 that he wanted to keep his staff together.
"I like our staff a lot. I think we've got some good coaches," Shanahan told reporters.
