Katie Sowers is leaving the 49ers after four years in her role with the team. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Assistant coach Katie Sowers, 49ers part ways

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Jan 7, 2021 4:12 PM ET

Earlier this week, San Francisco 49ers assistant coach Katie Sowers hinted in an Instagram post that she and the franchise would be parting ways.

Sowers, the club's first female assistant and the NFL's first openly gay coach, confirmed the news on Thursday:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Katie Sowers (@katesowers5)

“I will sadly not be back,” Sowers told Cam Inman of The Mercury News via text message. The 49ers did not comment about allowing Sowers' contract to expire.

Sowers entered the NFL as an intern with the Atlanta Falcons in 2016 before she joined the Niners the following year, first as a seasonal assistant before she was promoted to an offensive assistant. In that expanded role, Sowers largely worked alongside wide receivers coach Wes Welker instructing that position group.

It's believed the 34-year-old is looking for an expanded role with a different NFL organization.

Widely respected as a trailblazer in the sport, Sowers was once featured in a national advertising campaign:

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

More must-reads: