Joe Woods is now the defensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns, and with his departure, the 49ers hired Tony Oden, formerly of the Miami Dolphins, as the team’s new defensive backs coach. Woods also held the role of defensive passing game coordinator.
In order to fill that void, the 49ers have hired a former Robert Saleh colleague in Mike Rutenberg as a passing game specialist, according to ESPN’s Field Yates. For the last seven years, Rutenberg has coached with the Jaguars, overlapping with Saleh from 2014-16.
The 49ers have hired former Jaguars assistant LB coach Mike Rutenberg as a pass game specialist. He previously worked with DC Robert Saleh in Jacksonville and should help fill the void created by Joe Woods’ departure.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) June 12, 2020
Rutenberg’s most recent role with the Jaguars was as assistant linebackers coach, but he was a defensive assistant coach from 2016-17 and assistant defensive backs coach from 2013-15. In hiring Rutenberg, the 49ers have now made three hirings on the defensive side of the ball this offseason, with Oden and Aaron Whitecotton, the pass rush specialist replacing Chris Kiffin — who joined Woods as the Browns’ defensive line coach — the other two.