Everything was alright in San Francisco until two beat writers broke the 49ers’ news. The news of head coach Kyle Shanahan and GM John Lynch firing coaches went viral before they officially announced it. We all know that the 49ers had a terrible, injury-laden season (including major players like Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey) this year, registering a 6-11 record and touching rock bottom in the division ranking. Seems shameful, right? But not that shameful and agonising to fire the newly added head coaches. It was about to happen, though.

In fact, to set aside the personal views, the general manager John Lynch had already told reporters, “We have been looking at the root causes.” So, what followed this firm decision? Firing special teams coach Brian Schneider and defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen. However, fans, reporters, and experts are criticizing Kyle Shanahan and the GM for various reasons, including firing after one year of tenure. But among all the muck of opinions, one reporter from San Francisco has come up with a unique analysis of the current happenings going around the 49ers headquarters. And because of the insider review, his opinions and explanations matter.

Tim Kawakami, the San Francisco reporter, has said in a tweet while talking about Nick Sorensen’s firing. He said, “The tide changed for Sorensen over the last few weeks — the top players seemed less sure about him and the defensive performances were not good.” He continued by asking, “Sorensen wasn’t dealt a great hand, but he probably wasn’t the answer. Next question: Does Shanahan have a line on who is?” But they didn’t stop there by asking just a question but gave a slightly good logic as to why HC and GM agreed to fire the DC.

Reposting and quoting his own tweet (above quote), Kawakami explained, “This isn’t the main factor, but at some point, Shanahan/Lynch also had to consider that they fired Wilks last year for running a better defense than Sorensen did this year. If they kept Sorensen, it could be concluded that it was just because he was familiar. Not a great reason.” Great analysis! Actually, the franchise fired Steve Wilks after losing the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs last year.

Lastly, Tim Kawakami made a bold statement by quoting the earlier tweet. He talked about Sorensen’s ability to coach the defense for the 49ers. The exact fact Kawakami tweeted was, “49ers source: Everybody likes Sorensen, but it seemed like he was not fully prepared for this job.”

Well, the firings are happening at a very fast pace in the NFL these days. 49ers’ former coach Nick Sorensen is no exception. The Las Vegas Raiders also fired the head coach, Antonio Pierce, which was a shock to many people. But all these things happening now are only for one reason- the 2025 offseason.

It was also a goodbye for Special Teams Coach Schneider 

The 49ers ended the season without breaking a losing streak of four games. It ended with a loss to the Arizona Cardinals in the final game of the regular season. So, the question is (actually was!) what next for the 49ers cause the brand new season is set to open on September 6, 2025.

And here we are before even the offseason started. What was the first thing the organization did? They fired special teams coordinator Brian Schneider. But his exit stemmed from a sharp dip in the kicking performance. Not what you hear every day. But the stats do speak. Jake Moody’s field goal success dropped from 84% in 2023 to just 70.6% in 2024, the lowest among NFC West kickers.

Injuries and team tensions, including an altercation involving Deebo Samuel and Taybor Pepper, highlighted deeper issues within the unit. Schneider, a Super Bowl XLVIII champion with years of special teams experience, couldn’t escape scrutiny as Kyle Shanahan seeks to address the team’s glaring inefficiencies. Meanwhile, speculation swirls that rival Rams coach Sean McVay could hire Schneider for a senior role—a potential strategic edge and yet another twist in this storied divisional rivalry. Who knows at this point… But the story never ends.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan, known for his no-nonsense thinking and result-oriented mindset, stands beside GM. So, no way the efficiency could have stayed on the floors in the 49ers building. As the upcoming season is closing, it would be exciting to see who will be the 49ers’ New coaches.