March 31, 2026, 12:21 p.m. PT<\/p>\n
The San Francisco 49ers<\/a> may have a new coaching superstar on their staff.<\/p>\n KJ Wright was promoted from defensive quality control coach to linebackers coach for the 2026 season, marking a rapid rise after spending just two years on the 49ers’ coaching staff \u2212 his first two seasons as a coach after an 11-year playing career. Former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who left to become the head coach with the Tennessee Titans<\/a>, told reporters at NFL owners meetings that Wright was considered “off limits<\/a>” for poaching to Saleh’s new staff.<\/p>\n “He’s going to be a coordinator really quick,” Saleh said per ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. “I could see him easily progressing the way DeMeco did. He’s got the same mindset. He’s got the same respect from his players. KJ’s going to be really good.”<\/p>\n That’s high praise coming from Saleh, who oversaw Ryans’ quick rise from defensive assistant, to position coach, to defensive coordinator with San Francisco. The 49ers knew early that Ryans would be a coordinator and he stepped in seamlessly for Saleh, who took the New York Jets head coaching job in 2021. Ryans spent just two seasons as San Francisco’s DC before earning the head coaching job with the Houston Texans.<\/p>\n It’s hard not to put Wright in the same breath as Ryans given their remarkably similar journeys. Ryans played for 10 years, became a position coach after one season as a defensive quality control coach. Wright spent 11 seasons in the NFL as a linebacker and became a position coach after two seasons as a defensive QC.<\/p>\n