Report: 49ers interview Raiders safeties coach Gerald Alexander

There is only one coordinator position open in the NFL and it remains with the San Francisco 49ers. Since moving on from Steve Wilks as defensive coordinator after one season with the team, the 49ers are without a defensive coordinator.

Multiple candidates have emerged for the 49ers’ opening with several coaches going through the interview process. The latest candidate to receive an interview is reportedly a coach on the Las Vegas Raiders’ staff.

According to Matt Barrows of The Athletic, the 49ers have interviewed Raiders safeties coach Gerald Alexander.

The former 2007 second-round pick out of Bosie State played five seasons in the NFL before becoming a coach at the college level. In 2020, Brian Flores and the Miami Dolphins hired Alexander as the team’s defensive backs coach.

After coaching in Miami, Alexander was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers as a defensive backs coach. During the current 2024 offseason, Alexander was hired as a defensive backs coach on Antonio Pierce’s staff with the Raiders.

Alexander joins Dave Merritt, Brandon Staley, Danel Bullocks, Nick Sorensen as candidates who have interviewed for the 49ers’ defensive coordinator position.

The 49ers have interviewed Las Vegas Raiders safeties coach Gerald Alexander for their open defensive coordinator position, a source confirms to NBC Sports Bay Area on Friday.

The Athletic’s Matt Barrows first reported news of Alexander’s interview.

The 39-year-old Alexander joins Kansas City Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt, 49ers defensive pass game coordinator Nick Sorensen, 49ers defensive backs coach Daniel Bullocks and former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley as confirmed candidates for the opening.

Alexander spent five years as an NFL player, including two seasons with the Detroit Lions where he played with Bullocks. Both were second-round draft picks for the Lions — Bullocks in 2006 and Alexander in 2007.

Alexander began his coaching career in 2013 at Arkansas State and spent the next several seasons at various colleges, including Washington, Indiana State, Montana State and Cal.

In 2020, Alexander was hired by the Miami Dolphins as their defensive backs coach, a position he held until joining the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022 as their assistant defensive backs coach.

Raiders coach Antonio Pierce hired Alexander as his safeties coach earlier this year before he interviewing with the 49ers.

The Las Vegas Raiders hired Gerald Alexander as their new safeties coach earlier this year. And he’s already considering a promotion with another club.

According to The Athletic’s Matt Barrows, Alexander has interviewed for the San Francisco 49ers vacant defensive coordinator position.

A former NFL defensive back, Gerald Alexander spent the last two seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He began his coaching career with the Miami Dolphins in 2020. Before joining the NFL, he held various collegiate coaching roles with California, Montana State, Washington, Indiana State and Arkansas State.

Additional names that have already been linked to the 49ers vacant defensive coordinator role this offseason include:

David Merritt, current defensive backs coach for the Kansas City Chiefs
Brandon Staley, former Los Angeles Chargers coach
Nick Sorenson, current defensive passing game/nickels coach for the 49ers
Daniel Bullocks, current defensive backs coach for the 49ers
Barrows noted in a follow-up post that Alexander and Bullocks are former teammates. The two played together for the Detroit Lions in 2008.

The San Francisco 49ers fired former defensive coordinator Steve Wilks just days after the team lost to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII. Wilks was only in San Francisco for one season.