49ers’ coordinators NFL’s youngest, least experienced
49ers’ coordinators NFL’s youngest, least experienced
The 49ers’ youth-filled roster may not be alone in learning on the job this season.
Consider the top assistants on their coaching staff.
The 49ers have the youngest trio of coordinators in the league in Curtis Modkins (offense), 45, Jim O’Neil (defense), 37, and Derius Swinton (special teams), 30.
Swinton is the league’s youngest special-teams coordinator and O’Neil is the league’s second-youngest defensive coordinator.
O’Neil is about two months older than Seahawks defensive coordinator Kris Richard, 37.
The 49ers coordinators have an average age of 37.3.
The Patriots (38 years) have the league’s second-youngest trio of coordinators.
Not surprisingly, given their age, the 49ers coordinators don’t have much experience in their current roles.
Modkins, who won’t be the 49ers’ play-caller (that will be Chip Kelly), was the Bills offensive coordinator from 2010-12; O’Neil spent the past two seasons in the same role with the Browns and Swinton has never been a coordinator.
How much will their lack of experience matter?
Last year, for example, the Cardinals went 13-3 with a trio that had five seasons of combined experience as NFL coordinators, although head coach Bruce Arians, 63, was calling the offensive plays.
On the flip side, the 49ers went 5-11 in 2015 with a group (Geep Chryst, Eric Mangini and Thomas McGauhey) that had four seasons of NFL experience as coordinators, although Mangini had spent five seasons as an NFL head coach.
Listed below, from youngest (49ers) to oldest (Titans), is each team’s group of coordinators.
[...] a few notes:
** In 2016, the 49ers will enter the season with coordinators who have five seasons of experience as NFL coordinators (Modkins, O’Neil, Swinton).
In 2015, the 49ers entered the season with coordinators who had four seasons of experience as NFL coordinators (Chryst, Mangini, McGaughey).
In 2014, the 49ers entered the season with coordinators who had 42 seasons of experience as NFL coordinators (Greg Roman, Vic Fangio, Brad Seely).
** The NFL’s youngest coordinators:
Washington OC Sean McVay (30 years, 3 months); San Francisco ST Derius Swinton (30 years, 11 months) and Detroit OC Jim Bob Cooter (31).
** The NFL’s oldest coordinators:
Tennessee DC Dick LeBeau (74); Houston DC Romeo Crennel (68) and Denver DC Wade Phillips (68).
** The NFL’s youngest offensive coordinators:
** The NFL’s oldest offensive coordinators:
The Jets’ Chan Gailey (64), Minnesota’s Norv Turner (63) and Tennessee’s Terry Robiskie (61).
** The NFL’s youngest defensive coordinators (all from the NFC West): Seattle’s Kris Richard (37 years, 6 months); San Francisco’s Jim O’Neil (37 years, 8 months) and Arizona’s James Bettcher (37 years, 11 months).
** The NFL’s oldest defensive coordinators:
** The NFL’s youngest special-teams coordinators:
San Francisco’s Derius Swinton (30); New England’s Joe Judge (34) and Chicago’s Jeff Rodgers (38).
** The NFL’s oldest special-teams coordinators:
** The Titans have the NFL’s oldest defensive coordinator (LeBeau, 73), second-oldest special-teams coordinator (April, 63) and third-oldest offensive coordinator (Terry Robiskie, 61).
AVERAGE AGE OF NFL COORDINATOR STAFFS (as of April 19)
OC:
DC:
Derius Swinton: 30 (4-26-85)
PATRIOTS (38)
OC:
DC:
OC:
DC:
SEAHAWKS (42.3)
OC:
DC:
BEARS (43.3)
OC:
DC:
BENGALS (45)
OC:
DC:
CARDINALS (45)
OC:
DC:
CHARGERS (47.3)
OC:
DC:
COLTS (47.3)
OC:
DC:
Tom McMahon: 46 (7-12-69)
SAINTS (47.7)
OC:
DC:
Greg McMahon: 56 (1-2-60)
OC:
DC:
LIONS (48)
OC:
DC:
RAMS (48)
Darren Rizzi, Dolphins: 45 (7-21-70)
FALCONS (49.3)
VIKINGS (53.7)
RAVENS (62)