The San Francisco 49ers formally announced the hiring of Roy Anderson as assistant defensive backs coach. The news confirms what FOX Sports NFL reporter Alex Marvez reported on earlier this week. Anderson will join Jeff Hafley in coaching the 49ers secondary. Anderson's last job was with the Indianapolis Colts, as their secondary coach. He spent two of those seasons working with current 49ers safety Antoine Bethea, before the latter joined the 49ers.
The question now might be whether or not Anderson will actually get much of a chance to work with Bethea in 2016. The 49ers placed Bethea on injured reserve in late October due to a torn pectoral muscle. Rookie safety Jaquiski Tartt replaced him in the starting lineup, and got some much-needed experience. He dealt with plenty of downs to go with his ups, so it will be interesting to see if the team is prepared to turn the strong safety role over to Tartt.
Bethea has been a strong presence in the 49ers secondary. He earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2014, and provides leadership to a group that is still relatively young. His 4-year contract did open the door for a potential release after 2016 with reasonable dead money left. Will the 49ers pull the trigger after one year of Jaquiski Tartt?
Here is Anderson's full bio, courtesy of 49ers PR:
Anderson, 35, enters his ninth season in the NFL and first as the 49ers assistant defensive backs coach. He spent the previous four seasons as the secondary coach with the Indianapolis Colts (2012-15), joining the Colts after seven seasons (2005-11) with the Baltimore Ravens. During his final two years in Baltimore (2010-11), Anderson was the team's defensive assistant/secondary coach where he handled defensive quality control duties and also worked with the defensive backs.
Anderson originally entered the NFL with the Ravens in 2005 as a player personnel assistant, where he worked with Baltimore's NFL Draft and free agency process by evaluating players, organizing free agent tryouts and monitoring potential trade transactions. Prior to joining the Ravens, Anderson was as a graduate assistant with Louisiana State University during the 2004 season. Anderson began his coaching career as a graduate assistant with Florida A&M University working with the quarterbacks in 2002. The following season, he served as a student assistant with Florida State University, again tutoring the team's quarterbacks. A four-year quarterback at Howard University (1998-2001), Anderson was named to the All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Scholar-Athlete Team in 2001.
A native of Tallahassee, FL, Anderson graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration and also earned his master's in sports management from Florida State in 2003. He attended Godby (Tallahassee, FL) High School, where he participated in both football and baseball.