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The San Francisco 49ers formally announced on Thursday that they have hired former Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Joe Woods to serve as defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator. He replaces Jeff Hafley, who departed after three seasons with the team to serve as co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan had this to say about the hiring decision.
“In addition to being a tremendous coach with a wealth of knowledge, Joe is a great person that we believe will help bring the best out of our players. Since we first worked together in Tampa, Joe has continued to gain invaluable experience in different schemes and coverages that will benefit our defense. Anybody who is familiar with Joe as a coach knows that he is passionate about the fundamentals of the game and we look forward to seeing the impact he has on our team.”
It will be a quick turnaround for Woods as the 49ers coaching staff heads to Mobile this weekend for Senior Bowl week. The 49ers are coaching the South roster with a week of practices followed by the game on January 26th.
Here is a rundown of Woods’ biography, courtesy of 49ers PR.
Woods, 48, joins the 49ers after spending the previous four seasons with the Denver Broncos as the team’s defensive coordinator (2017-18) and defensive backs coach (2015-16).
Prior to Denver, Woods spent 11 years as defensive backs coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2004-05), Minnesota Vikings (2006-13) and Oakland Raiders (2014). Before his time in the NFL, Woods served as defensive backs coach at Western Michigan University (2001-03), Hofstra University (1998-2000), Kent State University (1997) and Grand Valley State University (1994-96). He began his coaching career as defensive backs coach at Muskingum College in 1992, followed by one season as a graduate assistant at Eastern Michigan University (1993). He also spent the spring of 1994 as linebackers coach at Northwestern State University.
A native of North Vandergrift, PA, Woods played cornerback and safety at Illinois State University where he was a team captain as a senior in 1991 and earned First-Team All-Gateway Conference honors.