The writing was on the wall with this move.
The San Francisco 49ers have fired their special teams coordinator Brian Schneider, per ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. As mediocre as the 49ers were on offense and defense, their special teams took the cake. Almost every week there was some issue with them.
The #49ers have fired special teams coordinator Brian Schneider, sources tell ESPN.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) January 7, 2025
Every facet of special teams was atrocious. Kick-off coverage was putrid, punt coverage was pitiful, punts were getting blocked, and being prepared for any fake punts/kicks was lacking. In the regular season finale against the Cardinals, the 49ers allowed a fourth down conversion due to a fake punt.
That likely only made it an obvious decision for the 49ers to cut ties with Schneider after joining the team in 2022. The 49ers will be on the lookout for any prominent special teams coordinator so that the unit is never significantly factoring into losses as they did countless times this season.
However, that was the idea three years ago when the 49ers parted ways with former coordinator Richard Hightower. Given his track record in Seattle, Schneider was supposed to be this massive upgrade when the 49ers hired him. Yet, he never managed to get the special teams in an adequate standing in any season.
The reality is the special teams will always be low-level for the 49ers because of Kyle Shanahan. He gives no more than one percent of his energy towards it. Look at how the last two coordinators fared. They had similar results, which means it’s on the head coach. Shanahan doesn’t care about it.
Until he finally starts to acknowledge he needs to put more energy into improving it and taking it seriously, the 49ers will continue to be weak on special teams.
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