The San Francisco 49ers have filled their vacant defensive coordinator position for the 2024 NFL season. Nick Sorensen will be promoted into the role from the defensive pass game specialist and nickel cornerbacks coach position. He takes over for Steve Wilks who was fired two days after the 49ers' Super Bowl 58 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Sorensen's hiring comes in tandem with the hiring of former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley into the assistant head coach role. That position was left open by Anthony Lynn's departure to the Washington Commanders ahead of next season.

Here's what to know about the 49ers' new defensive coordinator.

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Who is Nick Sorensen?

The 45-year-old Sorensen moves to the defensive coordinator role after two seasons with the 49ers.

Sorensen started his coaching career in 2013 with the Seattle Seahawks. He spent eight seasons in total with that franchise in three different roles: assistant special teams coach (2013-15), assistant defensive backs coach (2016), and secondary coach (2017-2020).

He was the special teams coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021. The advanced metric DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average) measures on per-play basis how good a team's offense, defense, and special teams units are compare to the league-average based on situation and opponent. By DVOA, the Jaguars' 2021 special teams were second-worst in the league.

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Jacksonville fired head coach Urban Meyer in December 2021 and Sorensen was not retained for the following season. He came to San Francisco and coached in the defensive assistant role in 2022 before moving to pass game specialist and nickels coach in 2023.

Sorensen is the second former NFL player to take on the defensive coordinator role in San Francisco under head coach Kyle Shanahan, joining current Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans with that distinction. Sorensen is also the second 49ers' defensive coordinator under Shanahan to have experience in Seattle - the first was current New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh.

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Nick Sorensen's NFL experience

Sorensen played college football for Virginia Tech, originally at quarterback before moving to defense back following Michael Vick's arrival in 1999. He stayed on that side of the ball at the NFL level and signed as an undrafted free agent with the Miami Dolphins in 2001.

The Dolphins waived him before the season and he signed with the then-St. Louis Rams. He'd stay there for two full seasons before signing with the Jaguars in 2003.

Sorensen spent four seasons in Jacksonville and was special teams captain every year there. After an injury in the 2006 season, the Jaguars cut him prior to the 2007 season.

He spent the next four seasons with the Cleveland Browns and had the best season of his career in 2008. He set career highs in tackles (20) and sacks (0.5) while starring on special teams once again. After his contract expired following the 2010 season, Sorensen did not sign with another team in free agency.

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