The San Francisco 49ers coaching staff is experiencing a ton of turnover, and that could include a long-time mainstay. NFL Media analyst Gil Brandt is reporting Kyle Shanahan will bring Atlanta Falcons running backs coach Bobby Turner for the same role in Santa Clara.
The immediate question for 49ers fans is what this means for Tom Rathman. The one-time 49ers fullback, and long-time running backs coach is a favorite of most everybody. It helps that he worked with Frank Gore, but I don’t recall a single negative word from any running back when it came to Coach Rathman.
Matt Maiocco has reported that the 49ers want to keep Rathman on board in some capacity. I don’t know if they would have co-running backs coaches, or if it would be an assistant role, or something else entirely. I imagine Shanahan will get a chance to answer that during his introductory press conference on Thursday.
Here’s a look at Turner’s resume. He worked the bulk of his NFL career with Mike Shanahan, but has now worked extensively with Kyle Shanahan as well.
1972-74: Assistant, Kokomo (IN) Haworth
1975-82: Running backs, Indiana State
1983-88: Running backs, Fresno State
1989-90: Running backs, Ohio State
1991-94: Assistant HC/OC/Running backs, Purdue
1995-2009: Running backs, Denver Broncos
2010-2014: Running backs, Washington
2015-present: Running backs, Atlanta Falcons