The 288-page NFL rule book is divided into 19 chapters and more than 110 parts. The front office of each squad is responsible for staying up to date on the regulations and strictly adhering to each guideline. The San Francisco 49ers, however, were unable to accomplish that.
The 49ers were caught red-handed after a recent round of coaching changes. San Francisco demoted defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen and fired special teams coordinator Brian Schneider earlier this week.
The team successfully interviewed Deshea Townsend, the defensive backs coach and coordinator of the passing game for the Detroit Lions, and Robert Saleh, the former head coach of the New York Jets, in their quest for a new defensive coordinator. San Francisco was able to satisfy the Rooney Rule criterion in this way. Additionally, they fulfilled their obligations to replace a vacant job, something they neglected to do when Klay Kubiak was promoted to offensive coordinator.
Jonathan Jones, a reporter for CBS Sports, claims that the San Francisco 49ers broke NFL employment regulations by skipping some of the required procedures in the interview process. “NFL regulations prohibit the appointment of Klay Kubiak as offensive coordinator, even though San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan stated this week that he would do so.”
In the subsequent social media post, Jones provided clarification on his report: According to NFL regulations, teams cannot appoint coaches to coordinator positions that have already been filled without conducting an open search. According to Shanahan, Kubiak has been performing this work without a title for the past two years, but regulations require a search.
The 49ers must halt Kubiak’s promotion, carry out a valid offensive coordinator search, and adhere to the Rooney Rule as a result of the infraction.
For open coordinator positions, the Rooney Rule specifies the following: For every coordinator post, teams are required to interview a minimum of one minority candidate. Teams must maintain thorough records, and the ultimate decision-maker must be involved at every stage of the procedure.
After the interview process, Klay Kubiak is still eligible to be promoted to offensive coordinator by the 49ers.
Klay, who has been with the 49ers since 2021, is the son of former Super Bowl champion coach Gary Kubiak. Before being elevated to offensive passing game specialist in 2022, he began as the defensive quality control coach. Kubiak had the opportunity to call plays in two preseason games in 2024, even though the 49ers did not have an official offensive coordinator. Additionally, he called plays during the 49ers’ 47-24 defeat to the Arizona Cardinals in the season finale.
San Francisco had a 100% red-zone effectiveness rating and 436 yards, including just under 300 passing yards, when Kubiak was directing plays.
Not the 49ers First Violation
Generally speaking, the 49ers are among the NFL’s best-run teams. But the 49ers have violated the rules for the second straight season. However, it is somewhat pointless to be forced to perform a coaching search and then promote the same individual. The 49ers’ significant financial mistakes from the previous season resulted in NFL Draft penalties.
San Francisco was denied a 2025 fifth-round pick by the NFL after inadvertently overpaying a player $750k. One of their 2024 fourth-round picks was also moved back four spots. Front-office errors are becoming all too typical in San Francisco, even though Lynch and Commissioner Roger Goodell may have disagreed on the severity of the penalty imposed by the NFL in 2023.
The 49ers’ failure to complete an official coordinator search has not resulted in any extra penalties from the NFL. As of right now, it appears that San Francisco will merely get a quick reminder of the NFL’s rules.