Illinois wants 49ers LB coach Hardy Nickerson for defensive coordinator

San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel spoke with reporters today, as organized team activities come to an end. Here is everything he had to say. Transcript provided by the San Francisco 49ers Communications staff. So you got the new title. What does that mean? Have your duties changed at all and what's been your priority focus this off season? Any projects out there for you? "Well what it means, I would say, is it's an honor and privilege, really. Just to be the San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator, in particular, the offensive coordinator for [head coach] Kyle Shanahan. What does that mean in terms of my day-to-day job responsibilities? It's funny because I get that question a lot and I understand

When the 49ers line up on defense this season under new coordinator DeMeco Ryans, they might be taking more risks than they did over the past four seasons under the guidance of previous coordinator Robert Saleh. Saleh earned a reputation as one of the league's top defensive coordinators during his time with the 49ers, which he turned into his new opportunity as head coach of the New York Jets. But according to 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, Saleh liked to play it safe as a coordinator, which is something that could change this season now that Ryans is in charge. "I think you'll see DeMeco's personality come out a little bit more," Shanahan told Tim Kawakami of The Athletic

The Pro Football Writers of America announced the 2021 Paul "Dr. Z" Zimmerman Award winners. The award is given for lifetime achievement as an assistant coach in the NFL and named after Zimmerman, who covered the NFL for 29 years for Sports Illustrated. The two recipients are San Francisco 49ers running backs coach Bobby Turner and Las Vegas Raiders defensive line coach Rod Marinelli. "Turner is in his 26th season as an NFL assistant coach in 2021, and his fifth as San Francisco's running backs coach," wrote the PFWA in its announcement. "Turner is responsible for overseeing three of the top nine rookie rushing seasons in the NFL

Pro Football Focus continues its rankings of position groups across the NFL ahead of the 2021 season. The latest involves all 32 secondaries. Where do the San Francisco 49ers rank? You have to scroll down to No. 20 to find defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans' group. As for the rest of the NFC West, the Los Angeles Rams sit at No. 9, the Arizona Cardinals at No. 22, and the Seattle Seahawks at No. 26. San Francisco was able to keep much of its secondary together this offseason after much of it hit free agency. The team lost Ahkello Witherspoon to the Seahawks but re-signed cornerbacks Jason Verrett, K'Waun Williams, and Emmanuel Moseley. The 49ers also brought