According to NFL insider Tom Pelissero, the Dallas Cowboys are set to hire former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen as their new special teams coordinator.
Sorensen will reunite with new Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer. The two worked together in 2021 with the Jacksonville Jaguars, where Schottenheimer was the passing game coordinator and Sorensen was the special teams coordinator. They also previously worked together with the Seattle Seahawks from 2018 to 2020.
The #Cowboys are expected to hire Nick Sorensen as their special teams coordinator, per sources.
Sorensen spent last season as the #49ers defensive coordinator. But he has special teams experience, most recently with the #Jaguars in 2021. pic.twitter.com/QvKWzhciEV
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 28, 2025
Sorensen, 46, spent just one season as the 49ers' defensive coordinator. His defense faced numerous challenges, plagued by mistakes, inconsistency, and injuries, ultimately leading to head coach Kyle Shanahan removing him from the role.
Shanahan had expressed that the 49ers hoped to retain Sorensen, noting that he was a candidate for their vacant special teams coordinator position. However, the role ultimately went to former New York Jets special teams coordinator Brant Boyer. The 49ers hired former Jets head coach Robert Saleh as their new defensive coordinator.
A former NFL safety, Sorensen played for several teams from 2001 to 2010 before transitioning into coaching. He began coaching in 2013 as an assistant special teams coach with the Seahawks. He later served as the team's assistant defensive backs coach in 2016 and secondary coach from 2017 to 2020.
As mentioned, the Jaguars hired Sorensen as their special teams coordinator in 2021. The following year, he joined Shanahan's staff with the 49ers as a defensive assistant. By 2023, Sorensen had taken on the roles of defensive pass game specialist and nickels coach, eventually earning his short-lived promotion to defensive coordinator for the 2024 season.