One of the key 49ers’ offseason losses came in the coaching staff when former pass game coordinator Joe Woods left the Bay Area for Cleveland’s defensive coordinator job. San Francisco on Friday filled that void with former Jaguars assistant linebacker coach Mike Rutenberg per ESPN’s Field Yates.
Rutenberg’s job title is slightly different than Woods’ per Yates’ report. Woods was the defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator. Rutenberg’s title was reported as ‘pass game specialist.’ The 49ers still don’t have a defensive backs coach, although Daniel Bullocks is listed as the safeties coach on the team’s website.
49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh has some familiarity with Rutenberg from their time together in Jacksonville. Saleh was the Jaguars’ linebackers coach from 2014-16. Over that same span, Rutenberg was an assistant defensive backs coach for two years and a defensive assistant coach in 2016. He initially broke into the league with Washington in 2003 as an assistant to head coach Joe Gibbs.
Rutenberg has experience working with defensive backs, scouting and devising game plans dating back to his time in Washington, and throughout his time as a graduate assistant for the UCLA football team.
He has big shoes to fill taking over for Woods, who helped orchestrate the NFL’s No. 1 pass defense a season ago. If Rutenberg is able to get similar production from the 49ers’ secondary, he could be a name to watch rising up the team’s coaching ranks, especially if defensive coordinator Robert Saleh continues to get interviews with teams looking for a head coach.
