The San Francisco 49ers might not be entirely done adding to their coaching staff. The team is expected to hire Shane Day for the vacant quarterback coach position, and on Monday they had an interview with a notable ex-player. The 49ers interviewed former NFL wide receiver Wes Welker, according to SI’s Albert Breer. Welker also interviewed with the Green Bay Packers last week.
Welker retired from the NFL in 2016 and has spent the last two seasons as an offensive assistant and special teams coach for the Houston Texans. On offense, he has worked primarily with Texans wide receiver coach John Perry, according to beat writer Aaron Wilson.
The role that Kyle Shanahan and company interviewed Welker for is not specified, but Breer said the 49ers are restructuring their offensive coaching staff “a bit” following the departure of QB coach Rich Scangarello. Currently, Mike LaFleur is the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator and Mike McDaniel is the run game coordinator.
Welker was a prolific wide receiver and an excellent return specialist during his playing career. 49ers 2017 draft pick Trent Taylor has been compared favorably to Welker, although the reasons for that might not be entirely based on performance. That being said, Welker played in a similar role as Taylor back in the day, and it would be interesting to see Taylor get a chance to work with a great former receiver like Welker.