List of San Francisco 49ers head coaches

There have been 18 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, 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 are correct through the end of the 2015 NFL season.

#	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	.528	1	0	1		[16]
4	Red Hickey*	1959–1963*^[c]	55	27	27	1	.491	—	—	—		[17]
5	Jack Christiansen ‡*	1963–1967* ^[c]	67	26	38	3	.406	—	—	—		[18]
6	Dick Nolan	1968–1975	112	54	53	5	.457	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	.462	—	—	—		[29]
17	Jim Tomsula*	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	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

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.^[32] Roger Craig, coached by Walsh from 1983 to 1988, was a four-time Pro Bowl selection.^[33] 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.^[34][35][36]
• ^b The winning percentage is calculated using the formula: $\frac{Wins+\frac{1}{2}Ties}{Games}$
• ^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. "Buck Shaw Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Sports-Reference. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
2. "49ers Starters: Usual Starting Lineups—1950-06" (PDF). San Francisco 49ers. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-06-25. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
3. "Bill Walsh dies at 75; led 49ers to three Super Bowl titles". ESPN.com. 2007-07-31. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
4. Goldstein, Richard (2007-07-30). "Bill Walsh, Former 49ers Coach, Dies at 75". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
5. "Bill Walsh dies at 75; led 49ers to three Super Bowl titles". ESPN.com. 2007-07-31. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
6. FitzGerald, Tom (2007-07-30). "Former 49er head coach Bill Walsh dies". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
7. Hickok, Ralph (2008-04-17). "NFL Coach of the Year Award". Retrieved 2008-05-29.
8. "1963 San Francisco 49ers Statistics & Players". Sports-Reference. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
9. King, Peter (2007-12-11). "Petrino leaves Falcons". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
10. "Walsh named 49ers coach". Associated Press. 1979-01-10. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
11. http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/11049901
12. White, David (2011-01-07). "Mike Singletary fired after 49ers eliminated". The San Francisco Chronicle.
13. "Jim Harbaugh to 49ers, evokes 'Genius'". ESPN.com (ESPN). 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. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
16. "Frankie Albert". databaseSports.com. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
17. "Red Hickey". databaseSports.com. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
18. "Jack Christiansen". databaseSports.com. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
19. "Dick Nolan". databaseSports.com. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
20. "Monte Clark". databaseSports.com. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
21. "Ken Meyer". databaseSports.com. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
22. "Pete McCulley". databaseSports.com. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
23. "Fred O'Connor". databaseSports.com. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
24. "Bill Walsh". databaseSports.com. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
25. "George Seifert". databaseSports.com. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
26. "Steve Mariucci". databaseSports.com. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
27. "Dennis Erickson". databaseSports.com. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
28. "Mike Nolan". databaseSports.com. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
29. "Mike Singletary Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
30. "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. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
32. "Charles Haley Statistics". Sports-Reference. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
33. "Roger Craig Statistics". Sports-Reference. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
34. "NFL Records–Individual Records: Receiving". NFL.com. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
35. "NFL Records–Individual Records: Touchdowns". NFL.com. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
36. "NFL Records–Individual Records: Combined Yardage". NFL.com. Retrieved 2008-06-01.