Your daily San Francisco 49ers news for Friday, January 10th, 2025
49ers’ oft-injured Christian McCaffrey angry and eager to rise, again (paywall)
“McCaffrey felt like he had a “better burst,” finally had his “feet under me again” and was hitting holes with authority, providing him with evidence that he still had it.
“That was good,” McCaffrey said. “It was good that it happened. I got to taste it again. And understand what I can do. I’m feeling great now.”
McCaffrey, who has a maniacal work ethic, is known for his rigorous offseason training. And the question of whether he overtrained last year has been raised after he was sidelined by tendinitis early in training camp. McCaffrey dismissed that idea before going on to say he’ll tweak his routine this offseason, making “changes where necessary.”
49ers interview ex-Jets coach Robert Saleh for defensive coordinator job (paywall)
“Townsend, meanwhile, would seem to be more like the recently-ousted Sorensen. Like Sorensen, Townsend is a former NFL defensive back, who has mostly coached that position and who’s never been a coordinator before. Shanahan emphasized experience at the position during his Wednesday end-of-season news conference. Townsend spent the 2024 season running the pass defense for Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. That unit is known for its aggressive press coverage whereas the 49ers have mostly used zone coverages in recent years.
Saleh’s and Townsend’s interviews were done virtually. The interviews mean the 49ers have satisfied the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview at least two diverse — minority or female — candidates who don’t currently work for the team”
Why 49ers are betting on Ricky Pearsall’s sophomore breakout
“I started playing faster,” Pearsall told me. “That was the biggest thing for me and my biggest coaching point that Hank was telling me, ‘You just need to play faster. We got to get you to play faster. Whatever we can do to do that, as far as getting the playbook, or more reps you’re gonna get.’
“He was just giving me some kudos a second ago. He was just talking about what I looked like before, and now. He was like, ‘You look like a completely different player already and you haven’t even gone through a full training camp and gone through the first half of the season.’
“So he was just telling me how excited he is for me to come back and get started again. I’m excited to continue to get coached by him because, man, I have a lot of love for him. Even though y’all saw him yelling at me. I ain’t gonna mess up another alignment, I’ll say that much.”