The 49ers had been in pursuit of Bills running backs coach Anthony Lynn – both for the head coaching spot and offensive coordinator position – leading up to Schefter’s announcement.
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Chip Kelly continued shaking up the San Francisco 49ers’ coaching staff Friday, hiring Curtis Modkins as offensive coordinator and firing defensive coordinator Eric Mangini.
Under former Buffalo coach Chan Gailey, Modkins served as offensive coordinator but like Kelly in San Francisco, Gaily ran the offense.
On the defensive side of the ball, the 49ers have hired former Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebackers coach Hardy Nickerson to coach the same position in San Francisco, according to Alex Marvez of Fox Sports. Swinton was a special teams assistant with the Chicago Bears. The only assistant coach the 49ers have announced is running back coach Tom Rathman, who already was under contract. Potential candidates to take over are 49ers linebackers coach Jason Tarver and Baltimore Ravens linebackers coach Don Martindale.
The 45-year-old Modkins joined the Lions as running backs coach in 2013 and was retained when Jim Caldwell took over the head-coaching job from Jim Schwartz.
Kelly has said he wants coordinators who can bring new ideas to his scheme.
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With Kelly likely to call offensive plays, the onus will be on the 49ers to land a solid coordinator to helm the defense. Under Tarver, the Raidersranked among the bottom five defenses in points allowed, including a league-high 28.3 points per game in 2014. They set franchise lows with only 12 takeaways and two fumble recoveries.
