SANTA CLARA — If the 49ers’ biggest business this offseason is to pay Nick Bosa, then finding him a new defensive coordinator isn’t far behind in terms of importance.
The hunt is on to replace DeMeco Ryans, who parlayed that role the past two seasons into his first head-coaching job with the Houston Texans.
Vic Fangio, the 49ers’ defensive coordinator from 2011-14, was a strong candidate to return to that post, but he will fill the Miami Dolphins’ vacancy under coach Mike McDaniel, ESPN reported Thursday morning.
Steve Wilks and Chris Harris are two other external candidates for the 49ers’ opening, a source confirmed. Wilks served as the Carolina Panthers’ interim coach once they fired Matt Rhule after a Week 5 loss to the 49ers. Harris spent the past there seasons as Washington’s defensive backs coach.
How is coach Kyle Shanahan approaching this third hiring since 2017 for a defensive coordinator, having also found gold in Robert Saleh before he landed the New York Jets coaching job two years ago?
Shanahan is not ruling out another promotion from within his own ranks; the leading candidates could be Daniel Bullocks (safeties), Kris Kocurek (defensive line), and Cory Undlin (secondary).
Continuity in the scheme is a driving force.
“I love our defensive staff, I love our defense. I’m trying to get something where we don’t have to turn much over,” Shanahan said Wednesday. “I would love to keep our same staff, so I’m going to talk to some guys on our staff.
“… Whether we bring in a new guy or not, (he wants) someone who can work with who we have and what we’ve accomplished here because I love the scheme that we run and I feel the foundation we have on the D-line, at linebacker, at corner, at safety,” Shanahan said. “I think our players fit very well in it too, so I’m hoping to find someone who fits with us personality-wise and scheme-wise.”
Fangio is known for running an increasingly popular scheme with three down linemen and four linebackers. He visited a couple of 49ers’ practices last year, after serving the previous three seasons as the Denver Broncos’ coach (19-30 record).
Six other teams are interviewing for defensive coordinators.
Bosa is the kingpin of the 49ers’ defense and the leading candidate to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year award at next Thursday’s NFL Honors show. He led the NFL with 18 1/2 sacks in the regular season, but had none in the three playoff games, ending with Sunday’s 31-7 loss at Philadlephia in the NFC Championship Game.
Rather than play on the fifth and final year of his rookie contract, Bosa is expected to land an extension close to $30 million annually.
“He’s a fantastic football player, he’s a game changer of a football player. I should stop now, but everybody already knows all that,” general manager John Lynch said Wednesday. “I think we have a really good track record … of getting our players done, but it takes time, it takes patience, it takes persistence, and we’ll have that on our side. He’s represented by very good and capable people.
“And you heard Nick yesterday, he never seems to get too excited, he’s pretty chill about the whole thing and I think with that in mind and each of us wanting the same thing, we’ll be able to come to an agreement.”
Joining Bosa on the Associated Press’ All-Pro team were linebacker Fred Warner and safety Talanoa Hufanga.
The 49ers’ defense ranked first in the NFL in points allowed (16.3 per game) and total yards (300.6 per game), and it ranked second in run defense (77.7 yards per game) and takeaways (30).
