Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Vic Fangio officially joins Dolphins the day after Kyle Shanahan preaches defensive continuity for 49ers
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Vic Fangio will be joining the Miami Dolphins as their defensive coordinator after all. It was something that was reported earlier in the week. However, the coach denied that anything was official, leading to speculation that he awaited news of the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator job opening up.
It did. This week, the Houston Texans hired DeMeco Ryans as their new head coach, leaving the 49ers searching for his replacement. Unfortunately, that won't be Fangio.
Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area reports that head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke with Fangio about replacing Ryans, which was assumed when Fangio's name surfaced as a candidate to join the 49ers' staff.
On Wednesday, Shanahan was asked what he is looking for in a new defensive coordinator.
"I love our defensive staff. I love our defense," Shanahan said. "I'm trying to get something where we don't have to turn much over. I would love to keep our same staff, so I'm going to talk to some guys on our staff. I'm going to talk to some guys outside of our staff, and hopefully, whichever way we decide to go, whether we bring in a new guy or not, that it's someone who can work with who we have and what we've accomplished here because I love the scheme that we run.
"And I feel the foundation we have on the D-line, at linebacker, at corner, at safety, I think our players fit very well in it too, so I'm hoping to find someone who fits with us personality-wise and scheme-wise."
Maybe Fangio didn't fit what Shanahan wanted to do. Or perhaps the Dolphins simply outbid the 49ers. Whatever the reason, San Francisco's search continues. They have requested permission to interview Carolina Panthers interim head coach Steve Wilks and Washington Commanders defensive backs coach Chris Harris about their defensive coordinator vacancy.
Related News
LISTEN
Facebook Comments
More San Francisco 49ers News
49ers officially announce coaching staff hires
The San Francisco 49ers officially announced the hirings of Steve Wilks as defensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak as offensive passing game specialist, Jacob Webster as defensive quality control coach, and Max Molz as coaching operations assistant.
The Wilks and Kubiak hirings have been known since February but were never officially announced by the team. Such lengthy delays are not uncommon for the 49ers.
The 49ers Communications staff provided the following rundown via a press release.
Wilks, 53, joins the 49ers from the Carolina Panthers (2022), where he was promoted to interim head coach in Week 6 after initially serving as the secondary/defensive pass
49ers met with Wisconsin S John Torchio, who may attend local pro day ahead of NFL Draft
According to Rohan Chakravarthi, the San Francisco 49ers spoke with Wisconsin safety John Torchio on Thursday at the school's pro day. The defensive back may attend the team's local pro day before the 2023 NFL Draft.
Torchio (6-1, 208) registered 55 tackles, three tackles for a loss, a sack, six passes defensed, five interceptions, and two touchdowns through 13 game appearances as a senior in 2022, per Sports Reference. He recorded 97 tackles, seven tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, seven passes defensed, nine interceptions, and two touchdowns through his four collegiate
Assessing the 49ers roster and needs after one week of free agency
The first wave of free agency has come and gone, and the 49ers have had to say goodbye to a number of familiar faces while welcoming a few new ones. There's been a good amount of shuffling over the past week, but one thing remains clear -- the 49ers still have one of the best rosters in the NFL.
There's still more players to be added in the weeks ahead, both in the draft and in free agency. The 49ers still need depth and competition in a few areas, and maybe a new starter in a key spot on special teams. But with the way things look now, the 49ers could be looking at a fairly complete roster with very few weaknesses once they're done with their offseason moves.
Here's a look at where things stand by position as of March 17, along with some thoughts on where the
Ben Roethlisberger says 49ers reached out after Jimmy Garoppolo injury
The San Francisco 49ers made a call to former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger during the 2022 season after Jimmy Garoppolo went down with a broken foot. Despite rookie Brock Purdy stepping in and leading the team to a December 4 win over the Miami Dolphins, the 49ers understandably opted to look into all their options, including finding out if Roethlisberger might be interested in temporarily pausing his retirement.
"Last year, there were some truths to the Niners thing," Roethlisberger told Mark Madden at 105.9 The X,
