The San Francisco 49ers will square off against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, and while they will not see one familiar face, they will see another in defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, who was an assistant coach for San Francisco last season.
Staley served for one season as an assistant with the Niners, although it did not go all that well. He was not the team's defensive coordinator; that was Nick Sorensen, but he was seen as a coach who could help out with the big picture on defense.
Whatever the 49ers went with on defense last year, it just did not work out.