The San Francisco 49ers have a new member of their coaching staff, and it's a hire that will hurt fans of their arch rivals in the NFC West.
Former Seattle Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright, a Super Bowl winner with the Seattle and member of the fabled 'Legion of Boom' defense, announced on his 'KJ All Day' podcast that he is joining the 49ers' staff.
Wright will assume a role of assistant linebackers coach/defensive quality control coach in what his first foray into the coaching ranks after retiring as a member of the Seahawks in 2022.
"I am thoroughly excited, I am really really happy for this opportunity, I’m really, really happy for the Niners organisation believing in me, trusting me with their franchise," Wright said.
"I’ve competed against those guys since day one. My first ever NFL game was against the Niners, and I remember after that game my dad coming up to me saying ‘you think that you can play in this league?’ I said ‘heck yeah, I know I can play in this league’. It was going against the Niners and here I am, 13, 14 years down the road, about to be coaching for them.
"Kyle Shanahan to John Lynch, the 49er faithful, I’m excited, I’m ready to roll. It’s going to be really, really fun."
Wright is an intriguing hire for several reasons. He is very familiar with the 49ers' new defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen, who replaced the fired Steve Wilks last week, with San Francisco also hiring former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley to an assistant head coach role that will likely see him have a significant influence on the defense.
Sorensen got his coaching start with the Seahawks in 2013, two years after Wright was drafted. He worked with the Seattle defense from 2016 to 2020.
On top of that, Wright will have a sound knowledge of the 49er defense, which originates from the defense former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll ran in Seattle, with his arrival giving the Niners another experienced voice to work with a linebacking corps that had communication issues with Wilks during the 2023 campaign.
Wright will work with linebackers coach Johnny Holland, who has coached the Niners' linebackers since 2017 but has battled multiple myeloma, an incurable form of blood cancer, since 2019.
In Holland, Wright will be learning from one of the most experienced assistant coaches in the game. Holland got his start in coaching with the Green Bay Packers back in 1995.
With DeMeco Ryans having previously gone from defensive quality control coach to linebackers coach to defensive coordinator and Sorensen ascending quickly from defensive assistant to coordinator inside two years, the 49ers do an excellent job of bringing their assistants up through the ranks. After getting his start, Wright will hope he can follow a similar path and serve as another success story for the team that was once his biggest rival.
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