Brandon Staley: Reset with 49ers has been energizing

After Brandon Staley was fired as the Chargers head coach late last season, he found himself on the list of candidates for a number of defensive coordinator jobs but did not land any of them.

The 49ers were one of the teams he interviewed with and they offered him a different job on Kyle Shanahan’s staff. The 49ers confirmed this week that the title is assistant head coach/defense and Staley spoke to reporters for the first time in his new role on Wednesday.

Nick Sorenson is the coordinator and Shanahan said Staley knows that and is on the staff because “he can help us in a number of roles” that include being a sounding board for Sorenson. That’s a big change for Staley, but he said that he doesn’t “think looking at it as a reset is a bad thing” because of how well he fits with Shanahan and General Manager John Lynch.

“Talking to Kyle and John, there is a lot of common ground in how to lead a football team,” Staley said, via Cam Inman of the San Jose Mercury News. “That is what I was looking for more than anything, an opportunity where you feel you’ll be aligned with the right people who do things the right way and you have a chance to improve, and where you also have a chance to affect a team that can compete for a championship. All those stars kind of aligned. It’s been energizing. That reset has allowed me to do that.”

Staley only spent one year as a coordinator before a stint with the Chargers that was seen as a disappointment because of how they consistently came up short in big spots. Taking a step back was going to be necessary for getting another chance at a lead coaching job and doing it with a team that has developed a different reputation is as good a way as any as starting on that road.