“The #49ers have fired special teams coordinator Brian Schneider, sources tell ESPN,” Wagoner posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday morning.
Subpar performance by the special teams was among the reasons for the 49ers’ regression in the 2024 campaign, so the Niners’ firing of Schneider shouldn’t be a big surprise to a lot of people, including San Francisco fans, who have closely followed the team and watched the 49ers’ special teams blunders on the field.
“The real question to me is, who beyond John and Kyle are safe? I don’t think it’s anybody,” commented a fan.
From another X user: “When you have no one else to scapegoat after a terrible szn….”
“10 games too late but welcome to the offseason!” posted a commenter.
“To the surprise of exactly no one,” an unsurprised fan chimed in.
Related San Francisco 49ers NewsArticle continues below
“Gotta get a great coordinator. Special teams has cost us super bowls,” lamented a 49ers supporter.
The end of Brian Schneider’s time with the 49ers is hardly a surprise
During Schneider’s time as the 49ers special teams coordinator, San Francisco never ranked better than 15th in special teams Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA), as noted by The Atletic. In 2022, his first year with the team in that role, the 49ers were just 15th in special teams DVOA. They were worse in 2023, ranking just 25th overall before taking yet another plunge in the 2024 season wherein San Francisco was 31st.
The performance of kicker Jake Moody could have also played a big role in ending Schneider’s tenure in Santa Clara. Selected in the third round (99th pick overall) of the 2023 NFL draft by the Niners, Moody went just 24-for-34 on field-goal attempts in the 2024 season. In the 49ers’ 40-34 loss to the Detroit Lions at home in Week 17, Moody missed both field-goal tries from 50-plus yards and went 4-for-5 on extra-point attempts. As a team, San Francisco was just 27th in the NFL with a 76.74 percent success rate on field-goal tries.
Before he was hired by San Francisco in 2022, the 53-year-old Schneider worked as special teams coordinator for the then-Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks and Jacksonville Jaguars.
