The San Francisco 49ers have agreed to terms with Jim Tomsula to become the 19th head coach in San Francisco 49ers history.
“After conducting a thorough coaching search, and meeting with a number of outstanding candidates, Jim Tomsula clearly is the right man to lead this team,” said 49ers CEO Jed York. “Jim is a great teacher and a tremendous mentor who conducts himself with great class and integrity.”
“Our organization is excited to have Jim Tomsula leading this football team,” said 49ers general manager Trent Baalke. “We have had the privilege of working alongside Jim for the past eight seasons. He is a proven leader, teacher and mentor, and we look forward to seeing him apply his craft and vision to our team.”
Tomsula will be formally introduced as head coach during a press conference Thursday afternoon in the Levi’s® Stadium auditorium. Specific details about the press conference will be distributed at a later time.
Tomsula has coached 31 seasons of football at the high school, college and professional levels since the fall of 1989, including eight (2007-2014) with the 49ers. Named San Francisco’s defensive line coach in 2007, he also served as the team’s interim head coach for the final game of the 2010 season.
During his 49ers tenure, Tomsula has been instrumental in developing one of the most dominant defenses in the NFL. Since 2007, the 49ers rank fourth in the league in rushing yards allowed per game (98.4) and rushing average (3.72). San Francisco’s defense also ranks third in the NFL in points per game allowed (19.4) and fourth in yards per game allowed (320.9). In 2011, San Francisco set the NFL record by not allowing a rushing touchdown in their first 14 games of the season. The team surrendered just three rushing touchdowns all year, the fewest allowed in the NFL since the league went to a 16-game schedule in 1978.
Under Tomsula’s tutelage, DT Justin Smith was named to five consecutive Pro Bowls (2009-13) and earned All-Pro honors in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Despite being the fourth overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, Smith had never been selected to either team prior to working with Tomsula. Other players who have prospered under Tomsula’s direction are LB Ahmad Brooks, DL Glenn Dorsey, LB Aldon Smith and NT Ian Williams, as well as former 49ers DT Isaac Sopoaga and DT Ricky Jean Francois.
Tomsula joined the 49ers after enjoying one of the most successful stints in NFL Europa history. Prior to being named the head coach of the Rhein Fire in 2006, which made him the youngest head coach in NFLE history at age 38, Tomsula served as the Berlin Thunder’s defensive coordinator for two seasons, winning World Bowl XII in his first season with a defense that ranked first in the NFLE against the run.
Tomsula joined the NFLE in 1998 as the defensive line coach of the England Monarchs. He then went on to serve in the same capacity for five seasons with the Scottish Claymores, where he established a reputation for producing some of the league’s most dominant lines. He also played a leading role in mentoring and teaching young talent in the league’s National Player Development program.
Between NFL Europa seasons, Tomsula spent each fall as a member of Division II Catawba College’s coaching staff, since coaching in the NFLE was not a year-round position. He had been a defensive lineman at Catawba College in Salisbury, NC, after transferring from Middle Tennessee State.
Tomsula’s coaching career began with great uncertainty, but his desire to coach the game was steadfast. In 1989, Tomsula began his coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater following a career-ending knee injury. The following season, he went on to coach the defensive line at Woodland Hills (PA) High School. After spending the next two years out of coaching to provide for his family as a medical equipment sales rep with Thera-Kinetics, Tomsula landed a position as an assistant on the Charleston Southern University coaching staff (1992-95). He would once again spend two seasons out of coaching, as he returned to his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA, to serve as a sales representative with Cisco Foods. Urged by his family to continue his dream of coaching football, Tomsula returned to the coaching ranks in 1997 as the volunteer assistant defensive line coach at Catawba.
He and his wife, Julie, have two daughters, Britney and Brooke, and a son, Bear.
PRO BOWL PLAYERS COACHED
YEARS NAME
2009 DT Justin Smith
2010 DT Justin Smith
2011 DT Justin Smith
2012 LB Ahmad Brooks, LB Aldon Smith, DT Justin Smith
2013 LB Ahmad Brooks, DT Justin Smith
TOMSULA’S BACKGROUND
YEARS COACHING BACKGROUND
2015-present Head Coach, San Francisco 49ers
2011-14 Defensive Line Coach, San Francisco 49ers
2010 Interim Head Coach, San Francisco 49ers
2007-2010 Defensive Line Coach, San Francisco 49ers
2004-05 Asst. Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers, Catawba
College
2002-03 Asst. Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line, Catawba
College
2001 Asst. Head Coach/Defensive Line/Linebackers/Strength &
Conditioning, Catawba College
1998-99 Defensive Line/Outside Linebackers/Special Teams, Catawba
College
1997 Defensive Line, Catawba College
1992-95 Linebackers/Defensive Line/Strength and Conditioning Coordinator,
Charleston Southern
1990 Defensive Line, Woodland Hills (PA) High School
1989 Strength and Conditioning Coordinator/Defensive Line, Catawba
College
TOMSULA’S NFL EUROPE BACKGROUND
YEARS COACHING BACKGROUND
2006 Head Coach, Rhein Fire
2005 Defensive Coordinator, Berlin Thunder
2004 Defensive Coordinator/Special Teams, Berlin Thunder
2001-03 Defensive Line/Special Teams, Scottish Claymores
1999-2000 Defensive Line/Outside Linebackers/Special Teams, Scottish
Claymores
1998 Defensive Line/Special Teams, England Monarchs
