Nick Sorensen was elevated to defensive coordinator by the Niners from his position as nickel cornerbacks coach and passing game coach.
The San Francisco 49ers fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks following their appalling overtime performance in Super Bowl LVIII, and the position remained unfilled until the 2024 NFL season.
But a replacement for the NFC West franchise has already been identified.
The Niners elected to elevate Nick Sorensen from nickel cornerbacks coach and passing game coach to defensive coordinator in light of the NFL Network story.
If the work from the previous year is to be continued, then the internal movement makes sense.
With 1,525 yards allowed against the run, the Niners’ rushing defense ranked third in 2023. They also tied for eighth in terms of turnovers committed.
Split his ten-year NFL career between the St. Louis Rams (2001–02), Jacksonville Jaguars (2003-06), and Cleveland Browns (2007–10), Sorensen played for three different teams.
In 2012, he was hired as a coach by Youngstown State University. A year later, he was hired by the Seattle Seahawks as a special teams assistant, where he served in a variety of capacities, including assistant defensive backs coach and assistant special teams coach.
He remained with them until 2020. From 2017 to 2019, he served as Pete Carroll’s defensive secondary coach, wrapping out his tenure as a nickelbacks specialist.
He demonstrated his growth as a thinker in 2021 when he joined the Jacksonville Jaguars as their special teams coordinator. A season later, he was hired as a defensive assistant by the San Francisco 49ers.
