49ers DB coach Jeff Hafley headed to Ohio State

Pat’s update: Ohio State made it official

The San Francisco 49ers’ coaching staff is undergoing some changes this offseason. Last week, strength and conditioning coach Ray Wright was fired, and now it appears there will be a change on defense. Defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley is set to head back to college and become co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State, according to college reporter Pete Thamel.

Hafley was one of the few coaches that stuck around after Chip Kelly was fired. Hafley joined the 49ers in 2016 after spending two years in Cleveland in the same role. His assistant in San Francisco the past two seasons has been Daniel Bullocks. Prior to that, Bullocks helped coached defensive backs in Jacksonville for one year and was a college assistant prior to that.

The 49ers secondary had an up and down season as some of the younger players regressed from solid 2017 seasons. Ahkello Witherspoon struggled out of the gate in 2018, although he did some decent work in the back before a season-ending injury. Adrian Colbert had some ups and downs before he went on IR following Week 7.

This coming offseason, the 49ers are likely to invest their first round pick in a big time pass rusher. However, if they were to move back, or decide a Josh Allen is not worth it at No. 2, cornerback is not entirely out of the realm of possible picks. Add in some big free agency money, and the 49ers will likely add some serious talent on defense.