List of San Francisco 49ers head coaches

Kyle Shanahan, the current head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

There have been 19 head coaches in the history of the San Francisco 49ers professional football franchise. The San Francisco 49ers franchise was formed in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) before joining the National Football League (NFL) in 1950 after the AAFC merger with the NFL. Buck Shaw became the first head coach of the 49ers in 1946, serving for nine seasons—four in the AAFC and five in the NFL.[1] He coached a number of future College and Pro Football Hall of Famers, such as Frankie Albert, Joe Perry, Leo Nomellini, Y. A. Tittle, Bob St. Clair and Hugh McElhenny.[2]

In terms of tenure, Bill Walsh has coached more games (152) and more complete seasons (10) than any other head coach in 49ers franchise history. He led the 49ers to playoff appearances in seven seasons, three of which led to the Super Bowl championship, in 1981, 1984 and 1988.[3] Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Charles Haley, Ronnie Lott, Johnny Davis, Roger Craig, Fred Dean and Steve Young are among the players Walsh has coached in his career.[a][4][5][6]

Four 49ers coaches—Dick Nolan, Bill Walsh, George Seifert, and Jim Harbaugh—have been named coach of the year by at least one major news organization.[7] Walsh, Jack Christiansen and Mike Singletary are the only 49ers coaches currently in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Walsh was selected for his coaching contributions. Singletary and Christiansen were voted into the Hall of Fame primarily for their defensive play. Four times in 49ers history has there been an "interim" head coach. Three games into the 1963 season, coach Red Hickey resigned and was replaced by Jack Christiansen. Christiansen coached the 49ers to a 2–9 record in the remainder of the season[8] and came back to coach the team for four more years. In 1978, Pete McCulley was fired after coaching the 49ers to a 1–8 record.[9] He was replaced by offensive coordinator Fred O'Connor, who was himself fired after leading the 49ers to one win in their final seven games.[10] After a 2–5 start to the 2008 season, Mike Nolan was fired and replaced by Mike Singletary,[11] who finished the season 5–4 and became the official head coach following that season. After a 5–10 start to the 2010 season, Mike Singletary was fired and replaced by Jim Tomsula for the final 49ers game of the 2010 season.[12] Stanford University head coach Jim Harbaugh succeeded Tomsula as head coach in January 2011,[13] and led the franchise to the NFC Championship Game, where the 49ers lost in overtime to the New York Giants.[14] The following season, the 49ers reached Super Bowl XLVII, where they faced off against the Baltimore Ravens, coached by Jim's older brother John Harbaugh. The 49ers trailed by as many as 22 points during the game, but ultimately lost 34–31 to the Ravens; the 49ers losing a Super Bowl for the first time.

Key

# Number of coaches
GC Games coached
W Wins
L Losses
T Ties
Win% Winning percentage
00† Elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a coach
00‡ Elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a player
00* Spent entire NFL head coaching career with the 49ers

Coaches

Note: Statistics updated through Week 8 of the 2024 NFL season.
# Image Name Term Regular season Playoffs Awards Reference
GC W L T Win%[b] GC W L
1
Buck Shaw 1946–1954 114 71 39 4 .640 2 1 1 [1]
2 Red Strader 1955 12 4 8 0 .333 — — — [15]
3 Frankie Albert* 1956–1958* 36 19 16 1 .542 1 0 1 [16]
4 Red Hickey* 1959–1963*[c] 55 27 27 1 .500 — — — [17]
5 Jack Christiansen ‡* 1963–1967*[c] 67 26 38 3 .410 — — — [18]
6 Dick Nolan 1968–1975 112 54 53 5 .504 5 2 3 1970 Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year[7] [19]
7 Monte Clark 1976 14 8 6 0 .571 — — — [20]
8 Ken Meyer* 1977* 14 5 9 0 .357 — — — [21]
9 Pete McCulley* 1978[d]* 9 1 8 0 .111 — — — [22]
10 Fred O'Connor* 1978[d]* 7 1 6 0 .143 — — — [23]
11 Bill Walsh †* 1979–1988* 152 92 59 1 .609 14 10 4 1981 Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year
1981 Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year
1981 Pro Football Weekly NFL Coach of the Year
1981 UPI NFL Coach of the Year
1984 UPI NFL Coach of the Year[7] 		[24]
12 George Seifert 1989–1996 128 98 30 0 .766 15 10 5 1989 Pro Football Weekly NFL Coach of the Year
1990 Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year
1994 Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year[7] 		[25]
13 Steve Mariucci 1997–2002 96 57 39 0 .594 7 3 4 [26]
14 Dennis Erickson 2003–2004 32 9 23 0 .281 — — — [27]
15 Mike Nolan* 2005–2008*[e] 55 18 37 0 .327 — — — [28]
16 Mike Singletary ‡* 2008–2010*[e][f] 40 18 22 0 .450 — — — [29]
17
Jim Tomsula (Interim)* 2010* [f] 1 1 0 0 1.000 — — — [30]
18 Jim Harbaugh 2011–2014 64 44 19 1 .695 8 5 3 2011 Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year
2011 Sporting News NFL Coach of the Year
 [31]
19
Jim Tomsula* 2015* 16 5 11 0 .313 — — — [30]
20 Chip Kelly 2016 16 2 14 0 .125 — — — [32]
21 Kyle Shanahan 2017–present* 110 68 55 0 .553 12 8 4 [33]

Notes

  • a Joe Montana, Fred Dean, Steve Young and Ronnie Lott are all Hall of Fame players who were coached by Bill Walsh at some point during their career. Charles Haley, who is now a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was selected to five Pro Bowls in his 14-year career.[34] Roger Craig, coached by Walsh from 1983 to 1988, was a four-time Pro Bowl selection.[35] Another one of Walsh's players, wide receiver Jerry Rice, who played from 1985 to 2004, holds NFL records in receptions, receiving yards, touchdown receptions, all-purpose yards and total touchdowns.[36][37][38]
  • b The winning percentage is calculated using the formula: 
  • c On September 30, 1963, three games into the season, coach Red Hickey resigned and was replaced by Jack Christiansen. Christiansen coached the 49ers to two wins in the 11 remaining games in the season. He coached the 49ers for another four seasons.[8]
  • d Midway through the 1978 season, head coach Pete McCulley was fired after leading the 49ers to a 1–8 record.[9] He was replaced by his offensive coordinator Fred O'Connor, who was himself fired after coaching the 49ers to a 1–6 record during the remainder of the season.[10]
  • e Midway through the 2008 season, Mike Nolan was fired after leading the 49ers to a 2–5 record. He was replaced by his assistant head coach of defense, Mike Singletary.
  • f Before the final game of the 2010 season, Mike Singletary was fired after leading the 49ers to a 5–10 record. He was replaced by his defensive line coach, Jim Tomsula. Following the season, Tomsula returned to his defensive line coaching position and Jim Harbaugh was hired as the new head coach.

References

  1. ^ a b "Buck Shaw Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Sports-Reference. Retrieved May 29, 2008.
  2. ^ "49ers Starters: Usual Starting Lineups—1950-06" (PDF). San Francisco 49ers. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 25, 2008. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  3. ^ "Bill Walsh dies at 75; led 49ers to three Super Bowl titles". ESPN.com. July 31, 2007. Retrieved May 29, 2008.
  4. ^ Goldstein, Richard (July 30, 2007). "Bill Walsh, Former 49ers Coach, Dies at 75". The New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  5. ^ "Bill Walsh dies at 75; led 49ers to three Super Bowl titles". ESPN.com. July 31, 2007. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  6. ^ FitzGerald, Tom (July 30, 2007). "Former 49er head coach Bill Walsh dies". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  7. ^ a b c d Hickok, Ralph (April 17, 2008). "NFL Coach of the Year Award". Archived from the original on December 5, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2008.
  8. ^ a b "1963 San Francisco 49ers Statistics & Players". Sports-Reference. Retrieved May 29, 2008.
  9. ^ a b King, Peter (December 11, 2007). "Petrino leaves Falcons". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on December 13, 2007. Retrieved May 29, 2008.
  10. ^ a b "Walsh named 49ers coach". Associated Press. January 10, 1979. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2008.
  11. ^ "Hall of Fame LB Singletary takes over Niners with intense promise - NFL - CBSSports.com Football". Archived from the original on October 24, 2008. Retrieved October 21, 2008.
  12. ^ White, David (January 7, 2011). "Mike Singletary fired after 49ers eliminated". San Francisco Chronicle.
  13. ^ "Jim Harbaugh to 49ers, evokes 'Genius'". ESPN.com. January 9, 2011. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  14. ^ "New York 20, San Francisco 17". USA Today. David Hunke; Gannett Company. January 22, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  15. ^ "Red Strader". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on February 10, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  16. ^ "Frankie Albert". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  17. ^ "Red Hickey". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  18. ^ "Jack Christiansen". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  19. ^ "Dick Nolan". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on December 29, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  20. ^ "Monte Clark". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  21. ^ "Ken Meyer". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on February 16, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  22. ^ "Pete McCulley". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on February 11, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  23. ^ "Fred O'Connor". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on February 11, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  24. ^ "Bill Walsh". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on December 26, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  25. ^ "George Seifert". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on December 29, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  26. ^ "Steve Mariucci". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  27. ^ "Dennis Erickson". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on February 18, 2010. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  28. ^ "Mike Nolan". databaseSports.com. Archived from the original on December 29, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2008.
  29. ^ "Mike Singletary Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  30. ^ a b "Jim Tomsula Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 7, 2011.
  31. ^ "Jim Harbaugh Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on January 18, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  32. ^ "Chip Kelly Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  33. ^ "Kyle Shanahan Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  34. ^ "Charles Haley Statistics". Sports-Reference. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  35. ^ "Roger Craig Statistics". Sports-Reference. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  36. ^ "NFL Records–Individual Records: Receiving". NFL.com. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  37. ^ "NFL Records–Individual Records: Touchdowns". NFL.com. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
  38. ^ "NFL Records–Individual Records: Combined Yardage". NFL.com. Retrieved June 1, 2008.