Getty Head coach Kyle Shanahan and the San Francisco 49ers staff looks on from the sidelines.
Coming into 2022, the San Francisco 49ers knew there was a chance that offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel and defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans could leave.
After a strong showing and near-NFC Championship victory, young staff members like that are always going to get interviews and opportunities to move up the ladder elsewhere. Ryans ended up deciding to return to San Francisco, but McDaniel is still interviewing with the Miami Dolphins.
Something the 49ers may not have expected was that special teams coordinator Richard Hightower would leave the team. However, NFL Media insider Tom Pelissero reported early on February 6 that Hightower is joining the Chicago Bears as part of new coach Matt Eberflus’ new staff.
“The #Bears are hiring Richard Hightower as their special teams coordinator, per sources,” Pelissero wrote. “Hightower held the same position the past five seasons in San Francisco. Another big hire for Matt Eberflus.”
The #Bears are hiring Richard Hightower as their special teams coordinator, per sources.
Hightower held the same position the past five seasons in San Francisco. Another big hire for Matt Eberflus.
There’s definitely an aspect of surprise to the report, as the potential of Hightower leaving wasn’t a move that was really considered. There were no reports from local or national media that Hightower wanted to leave, or that Eberflus was recruiting him to the Bears.
Plus, Hightower joined 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan’s staff when he first took the job in 2017. He’s stuck around for five seasons, but is now moving into the same role in the Windy City.
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49ers Special Teams in 2021
There’s many reasons to hire a specific candidate to your staff, and Eberflus must have several for Hightower. However, Eberflus probably isn’t looking at the San Francisco’s special teams numbers in 2021 as evidence of Hightower’s ability.
The 49ers struggled on special teams most of the season up until the legendary blocked punt against the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round. The Athletic’s David Lombardi added his take, saying that he would’ve expected the 49ers to make a change themselves instead of Hightower being hired away.
“I was wondering what 49ers would do with coaching at special teams, since they did struggle so considerably there prior to the Green Bay game,” Lombardi Tweeted. “And now it seems that at least part of that question has been answered for them, with coordinator Richard Hightower departing to Chicago.”
He also pointed out that the Niners’ special teams unit placed in the bottom 10 NFL teams in DVOA(defense-adjusted value over average) in 2021 and 2022, ranking 23rd and 26th respectively. For those unfamiliar with DVOA, it is a metric that compares success on each play while accounting for all the changing factors that happen from game-to-game and moment-to-moment.
High Points
While their value wasn’t especially great this season, the Niners did excel in a few categories on special teams, as Sports Illustrated’s Rick Gosselin wrote up. Gosselin has ranked NFL special teams units for 43 years, and he had San Francisco’s 2021 group ranked 25th in the league.
The bright points included the Niners being fifth in opposing field goal percentage (77.7) and tied for first in takeaways with three. Both categories are areas that teams want to win, as turnovers and point-scoring are obviously critical.
Besides that, Hightower can also say that he kept the special teams unit clean in 2021. The 49ers committed seven special teams penalties for 57 yards, which ranked third in the NFL.
Those aspects, plus the blocked punt in the 13-10 win over the Packers, are where the Niners may miss Hightower going forward.