San Francisco 49ers assistant head coach and tight ends coach Jon Embree will not return to the team in 2022. Solomon Wilcots was the first to report that the 49ers fired the coach, claiming the team asked him to take a 60 percent pay cut.
Matt Barrows of The Athletic was the first to confirm that Embree would not be returning to the team.
On Tuesday @49ers fired Asst. H.C & TE coach Jon Embree who developed 5th rd pick @gkittle46 Being asked to take a 60% pay cut is how they now fire minority coaches today. #NFL #49ers pic.twitter.com/x3Mq2ntF3q
— Solomon Wilcots (@SolomonsWisdom) February 2, 2022
I can confirm that Jon Embree will not return to the 49ers next season. The 49ers will need to find a new tight ends coach. Embree, 56, had the additional title of Assistant Head Coach and, obviously, George Kittle flourished under his tutelage.
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) February 2, 2022
Embree has been with the 49ers since 2017. He has 13 years of NFL experience, previously serving in assistant roles with the Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Commanders, Cleveland Browns, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Embree was the head coach at Colorado for two seasons (2011-12) between NFL coaching stints.
Under Embree's guidance, tight end George Kittle has become one of the best tight ends in football, earning three Pro Bowl selections (2018, 2019, 2021) and being named a first-team All-Pro in 2019. Kittle often praised his position coach for his development.
"Coach Embree has helped me in so many ways, as a player and as a man," Kittle said via a statement after signing a contract extension with the 49ers in 2020. "I will always be grateful to him for all he has done and he continues to do."
Embree spent two seasons in the NFL as a tight end. The Los Angeles Rams made him a sixth-round draft pick out of Colorado in 1987. Embree appeared in 13 games over his short career before suffering a career-ending elbow injury in 1989 while with the Seattle Seahawks.