Inside the recent 49ers coaching hires

The San Francisco 49ers officially announced several coaching hires on Thursday: Steve Wilks as defensive coordinator, Klint Kubiak as offensive passing game specialist, Jacob Webster as defensive quality control coach, and Max Molz as coaching operations assistant.

While the first two hires were made public in February, Jacob Webster and Max Molz weren’t announced until the official statement from the organization on Thursday.

Per 49ers Communications, Webster, 25, joins the 49ers after spending the 2022 season as a graduate assistant at the University of Wisconsin, where he worked with the team’s offense. Webster spent the previous two years at the University of Missouri, where he served as a defensive graduate assistant (2021) and a volunteer (2020) for the program.

Webster attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (2016-19), where he played tight end and earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from the school. A native of Nashville, TN, Webster comes from a football family, as his father, Ruston, is currently a senior personnel executive for the Atlanta Falcons and previously served as the general manager of the Tennessee Titans (2012-15).

Both Webster and Molz come to the 49ers after working under Wilks during their time at Missouri, when the esteemed coach was the school’s defensive coordinator.

After a two-year stint at Missouri, Webster joined the Wisconsin Badgers coaching staff last season, where he served as a graduate assistant, working with the offensive line.

The new defensive quality control coach earned rave remarks from sixth-year offensive lineman Tyler Beach, who expressed confidence in Webster’s coaching staff while at Wisconsin.

“[Webster] did a tremendous job reinforcing the coaching techniques that our offensive line coach implemented and he’s also just a great guy,” Beach told 49ers Webzone. “He knows how to work hard, but also provides great feedback for his players.”

Quality control coaches have been very important during the Kyle Shanahan regime, as the head coach has publicly expressed how the preparation suits coaches for bigger roles in the future, which is how several of his disciplines got their careers jumpstarted.

With experience coaching both sides of the ball, as he worked with the defense during his time at Missouri, Webster is a young and intriguing fit for the 49ers on their revamped coaching staff following the departure of DeMeco Ryans.