[Mick]

ESPN does not project that the 49ers are one of the top five NFC candidate teams for the 2026 Super Bowl, though vegas odds typically have them in the 3rd to 5th slot in the NFC.

Three major coaching additions:
1) Robert Saleh is returning to improve the 27th ranked defense (by points allowed) or 8th ranked defense (by yards allowed).
2) Brant Boyer, fresh off of nine years' worth of special teams coaching at New York Jets, has been hired to turn around special teams.
3) The 49ers have hired a DB coach for the first time since 2020, Ray Brown of Boston College who coached BC to the ACC's interception lead last year.

Some thoughts on 2024 and needed improvement in 2025:

Defense

• In 2024, the 49ers gave up 436 points, worst since 2016 and 27th best in the NFL.
  
• The season before, they were third in points given up, the season before that they were 1st, ranked top in the NFL.
  
• So Wilks only took us down to third, Sorenson dropped us to 27th.
  
• Odd, fun fact: in terms of yards allowed, the 49ers were 8th in both 2024 and 2023, per Pro Football Reference.
  
• Why the difference? First, turnover ratio. 49ers were -10 for the year, 25th in the league. The year before, they were +10, tied for 5th in the league and only two behind the Ravens and Giants, league leaders.
  
• Second issue was special teams...
  

 
Special teams rankings

• The Good: In 2024, the 49ers ranked 7th in punt returns.
  
• The Bad: they ranked 11th in extra points, 11th in kickoff returns, 26th in extra points given up (function of defense allowing so many TDs)
  
• The Ugly. Lots. This was a terrible special teams season:
  • 10th in opponent field goal attempts but 19th in field goals made.
    
  • 21st in opponent punts, 20th in opponent return yards, 22nd in opponent kick returns, 23rd in opponent kickoff return yards
    
  • 27th in field goal percentage made
    
  • 29th in punting average
    
  • 32nd in net punting average, dead last.
    

 
Offense

• Shanahan, BTW, still has the offensive magic.
  
• The 49ers were ranked 4th in yards gained on offense (but only 13th in points, hence the 6-11 record)
  
• In 2023 they were 3rd in points scored and 2nd in yards (with CMC and Aiyuk and Kittle and Deebo).
  
• In 2022, similar results with 6th in yards and 5th in points.
  
• Bad red zone success this year, but then we lacked an LT for half the year, Aiyuk for most of the year, CMC for all of the year and Deebo was ineffective. Result was 3rd in NFL in field goal attempts, but 10th in field goals made.
  

 
Solutions

1. New special teams coach Boyer, DB Coach Brown and DC Saleh had better be awesome throughout the season. The 49ers lost 20 net turnovers between 2023 and 2024. 49ers had the NFL’s most INTs in 2022 (20) and 2023 (22) before falling to T15 in 2024 with 11.
   
2. Either Moody (high ankle sprain) and Wishnowsky (lower back) are over their injuries, or they have to go. Both were actually very effective pre-injury.
   
3. CMC has to come back strong.
   
4. They need to get rid of Deebo. He avoided contact all year until the very end, for some reason.
   
5. Juczszyk is very important to their offense and his skills have been declining. Hopefully he comes back strong or they get another good fullback.
   
6. Dre Greenlaw needs to come back strong.
   
7. Either Hufanga comes back strong or get rid of him.
   
8. Sign Purdy.
   
9. Nail the draft. They have nine picks, four in the Top 100. They have all their regular picks except a fifth rounder and they have compensatory picks after the 3rd, 5th and 7th rounds. Depending on free agents, and in my order of preference, they need multiple DLs, multiple OLs, multiple LBs, at least one DB, probably one WR, possibly one RB and possibly a TE. If a talented QB slips to 5th round or worse, they might take him.
   
10. The 49ers have 34 pending free agents, six are restricted (TE Tonges, DE Okuayinonu, TE Willis, LB Graham, DT Anderson, OT Pleasants). They will likely re-sign all six. The other 28 can go anywhere. My thoughts:
    
    1. Keep: LB Robinson and Stanford alum (their one good special teams player), RB Mason, LB Greenlaw, CB Ward
       
    2. On the fence: S Hufanga, RB Mitchell, OL Moore, OL Bartch, S Gipson, WR Conley, DT Davis, OG Banks, LB Flannigan-Fowles, DT Givens, QB Allen, QB Dobbs. Sign them if it's a workable number.
       
    3. Lose: DT Hargrave, OL Hennessy, RB Taylor, CB McCloud, OT Heck, CB Ya-Sin, P O’Donnell (unless Wishnowsky is injury-free), TE Saubert, OL Feliciano, CB Yiadom, LB Campbell. Wouldn't want them at market price.
       

[Mick]

ESPN does not project that the 49ers are one of the top five NFC candidate teams for the 2026 Super Bowl, though vegas odds typically have them in the 3rd to 5th slot in the NFC.

Three major coaching additions:
1) Robert Saleh is returning to improve the 27th ranked defense (by points allowed) or 8th ranked defense (by yards allowed).
2) Brant Boyer, fresh off of nine years' worth of special teams coaching at New York Jets, has been hired to turn around special teams.
3) The 49ers have hired a DB coach for the first time since 2020, Ray Brown of Boston College who coached BC to the ACC's interception lead last year.

Some thoughts on 2024 and needed improvement in 2025:

Defense

• In 2024, the 49ers gave up 436 points, worst since 2016 and 27th best in the NFL.
  
• The season before, they were third in points given up, the season before that they were 1st, ranked top in the NFL.
  
• So Wilks only took us down to third, Sorenson dropped us to 27th.
  
• Odd, fun fact: in terms of yards allowed, the 49ers were 8th in both 2024 and 2023, per Pro Football Reference.
  
• Why the difference? First, turnover ratio. 49ers were -10 for the year, 25th in the league. The year before, they were +10, tied for 5th in the league and only two behind the Ravens and Giants, league leaders.
  
• Second issue was special teams...
  

 
Special teams rankings

• The Good: In 2024, the 49ers ranked 7th in punt returns.
  
• The Bad: they ranked 11th in extra points, 11th in kickoff returns, 26th in extra points given up (function of defense allowing so many TDs)
  
• The Ugly. Lots. This was a terrible special teams season:
  • 10th in opponent field goal attempts but 19th in field goals made.
    
  • 21st in opponent punts, 20th in opponent return yards, 22nd in opponent kick returns, 23rd in opponent kickoff return yards
    
  • 27th in field goal percentage made
    
  • 29th in punting average
    
  • 32nd in net punting average, dead last.
    

 
Offense

• Shanahan, BTW, still has the offensive magic.
  
• The 49ers were ranked 4th in yards gained on offense (but only 13th in points, hence the 6-11 record)
  
• In 2023 they were 3rd in points scored and 2nd in yards (with CMC and Aiyuk and Kittle and Deebo).
  
• In 2022, similar results with 6th in yards and 5th in points.
  
• Bad red zone success this year, but then we lacked an LT for half the year, Aiyuk for most of the year, CMC for all of the year and Deebo was ineffective. Result was 3rd in NFL in field goal attempts, but 10th in field goals made.
  

 
Solutions

1. New special teams coach Boyer, DB Coach Brown and DC Saleh had better be awesome throughout the season. The 49ers lost 20 net turnovers between 2023 and 2024. 49ers had the NFL’s most INTs in 2022 (20) and 2023 (22) before falling to T15 in 2024 with 11.
   
2. Either Moody (high ankle sprain) and Wishnowsky (lower back) are over their injuries, or they have to go. Both were actually very effective pre-injury.
   
3. CMC has to come back strong.
   
4. They need to get rid of Deebo. He avoided contact all year until the very end, for some reason.
   
5. Juczszyk is very important to their offense and his skills have been declining. Hopefully he comes back strong or they get another good fullback.
   
6. Dre Greenlaw needs to come back strong.
   
7. Either Hufanga comes back strong or get rid of him.
   
8. Sign Purdy.
   
9. Nail the draft. They have nine picks, four in the Top 100. They have all their regular picks except a fifth rounder and they have compensatory picks after the 3rd, 5th and 7th rounds. Depending on free agents, and in my order of preference, they need multiple DLs, multiple OLs, multiple LBs, at least one DB, probably one WR, possibly one RB and possibly a TE. If a talented QB slips to 5th round or worse, they might take him.
   
10. The 49ers have 34 pending free agents, six are restricted (TE Tonges, DE Okuayinonu, TE Willis, LB Graham, DT Anderson, OT Pleasants). They will likely re-sign all six. The other 28 can go anywhere. My thoughts:
    
    1. Keep: LB Robinson and Stanford alum (their one good special teams player), RB Mason, LB Greenlaw, CB Ward
       
    2. On the fence: S Hufanga, RB Mitchell, OL Moore, OL Bartch, S Gipson, WR Conley, DT Davis, OG Banks, LB Flannigan-Fowles, DT Givens, QB Allen, QB Dobbs. Sign them if it's a workable number.
       
    3. Lose: DT Hargrave, OL Hennessy, RB Taylor, CB McCloud, OT Heck, CB Ya-Sin, P O’Donnell (unless Wishnowsky is injury-free), TE Saubert, OL Feliciano, CB Yiadom, LB Campbell. Wouldn't want them at market price.