KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ The 49ers have brought back Chris Foerster despite a troubled past.
Foerster, 57, has been a consultant with the 49ers starting in 2018, the team confirmed to The Bee Saturday, after getting professional help for drug and alcohol addiction following his 2017 resignation from the Miami Dolphins when a video surfaced of him snorting a white powdery substance.
Foerster was an offensive line coach at the time and served the same role for San Francisco in 2015. He reunited with coach Kyle Shanahan last year in a limited role after spending four seasons working on the same staff at Washington.
The team never formally announced Foerster's hiring. ESPN was first to report the story Friday and Shanahan spoke with NBC Sports Bay Area upon arriving in Kansas City for Saturday's third preseason game.
"He did something extremely stupid, and since then, he has hit rock bottom," Shanahan told NBC Sports Bay Area. "He went to rehab for 60 days, and then he was in a 90-day outpatient rehab. For the last two years, he's been in a 12-step program that he's been to every single night seven days a week."
Foerster's role is limited to working behind the scenes and not participating on the field during practice or sidelines during games. Shanahan indicated there's a chance he could earn a more prominent position down the line.
For now, Foerster's job as a consultant includes game planning and working in the offensive line meeting room.
"We're trying to ease him back in," Shanahan told NBC Sports Bay Area. "I understand how big of a problem he did have. I also understand what he's doing in committing to fix that problem. We're trying to give him a chance to get back on track."
