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2024 was a severe disappointment for the San Francisco 49ers who sunk to a 6-11 record and last-place finish in the NFC. They were 4-8 in the NFC and just 1-5 in the division.
It was quite the turnaround from the previous year that saw San Francisco fall 34-31 to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII after a 12-5 regular season. In fact, it was only the second time the 49ers didn't make the NFC Championship game since 2018.
In 2019, they lost Super Bowl LIV by a 31-20 count to the Chiefs, then went 6-10 in 2020. But in 2021, they were back in the hunt until they fell 20-17 in the NFC title game to the LA Rams who went on to defeat Cincinnati in Super Bowl LVI. In 2022, they fell 31-7 in the NFC Championship game to the Eagles who lost 38-35 to Kansas City in Super Bowl LVII. And in 2023, the 49ers were back in the Super Bowl where they lost 25-22 in OT to the Chiefs.
San Fran has a solid history in the big game, appearing 8 times and winning 5 of those. In fact, they were 5-0 in their first five Super Bowl appearances which all came between the 1981 and 1994 seasons. Since then, the 49ers have come up short in Super Bowls XLVII, LIV and LVIII.
For 2025, the FanDuel Sportsbook odds show San Francisco as the 4th-best betting favorite to win the NFC (+950), and 8th-best odds (tied with Cincinnati) of winning the Super Bowl (+2100).
Since last season ended, the franchise has signed QB Brock Purdy to 5-year contract worth an average of $53 million a year. Purdy is seen by many as a second tier QB, if not 3rd tier.
PFF puts KC's Patrick Mahomes, Buffalo's Josh Allen, Baltimore's Lamar Jackson and Cincinnati's Joe Burrow in that first tier, while Philadelphia's Jalen Hurts, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, leads off the second tier. Joining Hurts are Washington's Jayden Daniels, the LA Ram's Matthew Stafford, and the Chargers' Justin Herbert.
The third tier contains Detroit's Jared Goff, the Raiders' Geno Smith and finally, the 49ers' Brock Purdy. That puts him at No. 11 over-all.
Purdy was far from the only big move the 49ers have made in preparation for the 2025 season. Fred Warner became the NFL's highest-paid linebacker and TE George Kittle signed a four-year extension. Some key additions include Luke Farrell at tight end, Demarcus Robinson at WR, Tre Brown at corner, and Mac Jones as a backup QB.
Robert Saleh is the new DC, reprising the role he had the team from 2017-2020 before he left to become the head coach of the NY Jets from 2021 until he fired five games into the 2024 season (2-3).
Still, a lot might depend on the health of running back Christian McCaffrey who played only four games a year ago due to injuries. He has had just three 1,000-yard seasons in his nine-year NFL career with two of those in his first three seasons with the Carolina Panthers. The third came in 2023 when he posted a personal best 1,459 yards.
But McCaffrey is more than a runner. He is an extremely reliable pass catcher. McCaffrey topped 2,000 yards in total yards from scrimmage in 2019 with Carolina (1,387 rushing and 1,005 receiving), and 2023 with San Fran (1,459 rushing and 564 receiving) when he won the NFL offensive player of the year award.
2024 Records: 6-11 regular season, 1-5 NFC West, 4-8 vs. NFC, 1-4 vs. AFC
2025 Super Bowl FanDuel odds: +2100, Tied for No. 8 of all 32 teams
2025 NFC Champion odds: +950, No. 4 of 16
2025 NFC West Champion odds: +155, No. 2 of 4
General Manager: John Lynch (2017)
Head Coach: Kyle Shanahan (2017)
Offensive Coordinator: Klay Kubiak (2025)
Defensive Coordinator: Robert Saleh (2025), previous DC from 2017-2020
Head coach Kyle Shanahan is 70-62 in the regular season, 8-4 in the playoffs, and 0-2 in Super Bowls (2019, 2023).
Even though Klay Kubiak has been named the OC, Shanahan will still be the primary play-caller and why shouldn't he be. Even last year, the 49ers managed to finish 4th in total offense, 4th in passing offense, and 12th in rushing. Like Mike McDaniel before him, Kubiak will be instrumental in play design.
Nick Sorensen was the DC a year ago and the club was 8th in total defense while finishing 5th in pass defense. The weak link was a run defense that ranked 18th. Sorensen was not retained and he moved on to the Dallas Cowboys where he will serve as special teams coordinator.
9/7 at Seahawks
9/14 at Saints
9/21 Cardinals
9/28 Jaguars
10/2 at Rams (TNF)
10/12 at Buccaneers
10/19 Falcons (SNF)
10/26 at Texans
11/2 at Giants
11/9 Rams
11/16 at Cardinals
11/24: Panthers (MNF)
11/30 at Browns
12/7 BYE
12/14 Titans
12/22 at Colts (MNF)
12/28 Bears (SNF)
1/2, 1/5 or 1/6 Seahawks
According to Sharps Football Analysis, the 49ers have the easiest schedule for 2025 with an opponents win percentage of .410 after having the 4th-toughest schedule a year ago.
San Fran picked 11th in the 2025 NFL Draft and took Mykel Williams (Edge, Georgia) with the club's first over-all pick. It was a surprise for Williams to go that high after only collecting 14 sacks in three seasons with the Bulldogs, and he's coming off an ankle injury.
Alfred Collins (rd. 2, pick 43), the mammoth 6-6, 332-pound defensive tackle out of Texas, was the teams' second selection and should compete for a rookie starting job.
With Dre Greenlaw gone to the Broncos as a free agent, the 49ers chose LB Nick Martin out of Oklahoma State in round 3 with pick 75.
Addressing the lack of depth at corner, San Francisco went with Western Kentucky's Upton Stout in round with the 100th over-all pick.
After that, the 49ers took Indiana defensive tackle C.J. West (rd. 4, pick 113), Ole Miss WR Jordan Watkins (rd. 4, pick 138), Oregon RB Jordan James (rd. 5, pick 147), Kansas State safety Marques Sigle (rd. 5, pick 160), Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke (rd. 7, pick 227), Iowa OL Connor Colby (rd. 7, pick 249, and Montana WR Junior Bergen (rd. 7, pick 252).
This article is part of a series that includes similar articles regarding these NFL teams:
AFC East: Buffalo, Miami, New England
AFC North: Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh
AFC South: Jacksonville, Tennessee
AFC West: Las Vegas, Los Angeles Chargers
NFC East: Dallas, NY Giants, Philadelphia
NFC North: Green Bay
NFC South: Atlanta, Tampa Bay
NFC West: Arizona, San Francisco