Why the 49ers should not fire defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen

The 49ers cannot continue their constant defensive coordinator churn.

The San Francisco 49ers have had a different defensive coordinator each of the past three seasons. That trend cannot continue in 2025, which is why they should not fire current coordinator Nick Sorensen even though the defense has not been great this season.

By some statistics, the Niners have had a pretty solid defense. They’re the second best in the NFL in total yards allowed per game, allowing an average of 304.3. Yet, when it comes to points per game allowed, the 49ers are in the middle of the pack with an average of 23.3 points per game.

Takeaways are another area where the Niners have been in the middle of the pack. They have a total of 17 takeaways on the year with 11 interceptions and six fumbles recovered. Those numbers are not great but they are respectable.

Another area where the 49ers have been middling is in getting pressure on the quarterback. The team has 35 sacks on the season which, again, is middle of the pack.

All of this mediocrity can be dispiriting especially when fans have become accustomed to the 49ers having an elite defense. However, San Francisco has had to deal with injuries on defense this season. Most notably, edge Nick Bosa missed three games. They were also without linebacker Dre Greenlaw for practically the entire season, and the replacement for him De’Vondre Campbell was clearly not up to snuff as a player or as a teammate.

It is important to remember this was Sorensen’s first year as a defensive coordinator. There are inevitably going to be some growing pains when there is a brand new play caller on the sidelines. Sorensen and assistant head coach Brandon Staley have done their best to put their own stamp on the team’s defense, and while the overall results have been mixed, the Niners cannot just pull the plug after one mediocre year with a ton of injuries.

It is important to remember that it took time for former defensive coordinator Robert Saleh to build a solid defense. The 49ers were far from a defensive juggernaut in 2017 and 2018. It was not until they had players like Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner playing together on the team in 2019 that things began to click.

Plus, San Francisco has had three different defensive coordinators in the past three seasons. Demeco Ryans was there in 2022 before being hired as the head coach of the Houston Texans. Then Steve Wilks was fired after one season last year because head coach Kyle Shanahan felt he was not a good fit, which makes one wonder why he hired him in the first place.

The team cannot continue this churn of defensive coordinators. At a certain point, it is going to harm the play of younger players who may be receiving mixed signals from different coordinators and will not be able to play their best football.

Firing Sorensen is not going to make the defense dominant again in 2025. If the Niners stay healthier and bring back players like safety Talanoa Hufanga and Greenlaw, and Sorensen is more comfortable in the role next season, then it stands to reason San Francisco will improve defensively next season.