49ers interview Tony Oden to replace Joe Woods

On Friday, the Cleveland Browns officially named former San Francisco 49ers defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator Joe Woods as their defensive coordinator. Woods had a brief statement on why he took the job:

“You could definitely see they had some pieces in place, some talented players that I’ve evaluated over the years. I was definitely excited to have an opportunity to be a coach here.”

Woods and head coach Kevin Stefanski worked together with the Vikings for eight seasons, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that Woods joined Stefanski in Cleveland. Now it’s time for the 49ers to replace Woods. The team is wasting no time interviewing possible candidates. On Friday, per The Athletic’s Matt Barrows, San Francisco interviewed Oden has been coaching football since 1996. He spent the last two seasons as the Miami Dolphins defensive backs coach and the previous four as the cornerback’s coach for the Detroit Lions. Oden has never been a coordinator but has worked in the NFL since 2004. Before Miami hired him, Oden’s secondaries had ranked in the top-five in the NFL in interceptions in three of previous five seasons (2013-14, 2017.)

That success continued last season, despite having a young secondary, as Miami finished with 13 interceptions on the season, which is one more than San Francisco. If we’re going by results, Oden feels like a much better candidate than former Cowboys and Seahawks defensive coordinator Kris Richard, who has been linked to the Niners. We’ll see if teams continue to poach coaches from the 49ers staff. Turnover is expected with the roster and the staff, and the front office is faced with the challenge of replacing the talent they’re losing. We’ll be sure to update if there is any more news on the subject.