Illinois wants 49ers LB coach Hardy Nickerson for defensive coordinator

Former San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula has guided the Rhein Fire to a European League of Football championship. The 49ers named Tomsula their head coach in 2015 after the firing of Jim Harbaugh. His tenure lasted just one season as San Francisco went 5-11 that season. Chip Kelly replaced Tomsula in 2016, who also lasted just one season. Kyle Shanahan has been the 49ers head coach since 2017. Tomsula went on to serve as the defensive line coach for Washington (2017-19) and the Dallas Cowboys (2020) before being named the new Rhein Fire head coach last year. It was a reunion with the team he coached in 2006, when the Rhein Fire were a part of NFL Europe. Tomsula guided his European team to a 7-5 record last year. This year, he went 12-0

Wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings have been ailing. Neither has practiced this week. Samuel is dealing with rib and knee injuries, while Jennings is working through a shin injury. Both receivers participated in the 49ers' walk-through on Thursday but exited as their teammates started preparing for practice. Samuel left for the weight room and wasn't seen again by reporters. Jennings was seen getting some work on a side field. RELATED: 49ers vs. Cardinals Injury Report: Deebo misses another practice; Greenlaw returns The good news is that wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is trending towards playing. He has been limited in practices this

Kyle Shanahan has a lot of trust in Brock Purdy's ability to run the San Francisco 49ers offense. That's significant, considering Purdy is a second-year quarterback, was last year's final pick in the draft, and entered last season as QB3. Now, Purdy is the guy. The 49ers made that clear by letting go of quarterbacks Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance. Garoppolo signed with the Las Vegas Raiders as a free agent, and the Niners traded Lance, a former No. 3 overall pick, to the Dallas Cowboys. Shanahan joined KNBR on Thursday for his weekly radio interview and was asked if he would say his comfort level with Purdy exceeds that of any other quarterback he's worked with as the 49ers head coach. "Yeah, I would," Shanahan responded on the "Tolbert and Copes"

Thursday night was a fun one at Levi's Stadium, where the San Francisco 49ers cruised to a 30-12 victory over the visiting New York Giants. It was a night that saw wide receiver Deebo Samuel declare himself as officially out of "awful" mode, running back Christian McCaffrey reach milestones, wide receiver Ronnie Bell create some lasting memories, and -- of all things -- Andrew Luck making a return to an NFL field (in full Civil War costume) to take part in a game of trivia. Let's recap all that and more in this version of 49ers Notebook. Not awful anymore Back in June, Deebo Samuel caught some attention with his honest description of his 2022 performance