49ers Blog and Q&A

The 49ers are talking with former Jets and Browns head coach Eric Mangini about a consulting position, according to CBS' Jason LaCanfora.

Mangini has been out of football since being sacked by the Browns at the end of the 2010 season, and he's been working as an analyst for ESPN since. Mangini was a defensive coordinator in New England before the Jets hired him as head coach in 2006, and most of his coaching experience is on the defensive side. If he were hired by the 49ers, however, his role would be to consult with the offensive staff on dealing with certain defenses, LaCanfora writes.

That makes sense. Former Nevada coach Chris Ault invented the Pistol formation that has become all the rage in the NFL. But NFL teams were interested in hiring Ault not so much to aid their offenses but to better prepare their defenses for facing the Colin Kaepernicks and Robert Griffin III's of the league. The Chiefs recently hired Ault as a full-time consultant. (The 49ers were not one of the teams pursuing Ault).

Back to Mangini. He's only 42 and ostensibly is looking at a consulting job as a way of returning to the NFL. Is he looking at a future opening on the 49ers' staff?

Jim Harbaugh was a lowly offensive assistant on the Raiders in 2002 when Oakland drafted wide receiver Ronald Curry in the seventh round. Now Curry will begin his coaching career at the same level on Harbaugh's 49ers staff.

"The 49ers and our staff are pleased to be initiating Ronald's NFL coaching career," Harbaugh said in a statement. "Our team will greatly benefit from Ronald's athletic experiences, and we are happy that he and his wife, Stacie, are joining our football family."

Curry also is familiar to receivers coach John Morton, who held the same position in Oakland when Curry arrived. He also will recognize cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, whom the Raiders drafted in 2003 and who is competing for a roster spot this season.
 
Curry, 33, played seven years in the NFL, recording 193 receptions for 2,347 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Raiders. He tore his Achilles tendon in 2004 and 2005.

Offensive assistant is the first rung on the NFL coaching ladder, but good prospects don't spend much time at that level. Harbaugh, for example, was the head coach at the University of San Diego two years after he took the Raiders job. The 49ers' offensive assistant in 2011, Bobby Engram, now coaches receivers at Pitt.

-- Matt Barrows

A 6-6, 304-pound mountain of muscle who ran his 40-yard dash in 4.78 seconds and who can broad-jump nearly 10 ½ feet? Yes, it's safe to say the 49ers are intrigued by Lawrence Okoye, who visited Santa Clara Wednesday, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Okoye's rather prominent blemish - he's never played American football before. Instead he is a British Olympic discus thrower who has a rugby background and who says he's a long-time NFL fan. Okoye's combination of size and speed caught the NFL's attention at the super regional Combine in Dallas this week, and teams - presumably including the 49ers - are looking at him as a defensive end.

"I came over to the States for warm-weather training for my discus," Okoye told the London Daily Mail last month. "But when I saw that there was an American football regional combine taking place in Atlanta, I applied online. And when I passed, I went along.

"At the combine, I really stood out because of my size, strength and speed. I don't want to sound arrogant, but I was good on the day -- to the point that a lot of NFL clubs began talking to me immediately on the back of it. They all see me as a defensive end, which suits me just fine."

The 49ers made an addition to their coaching staff - Mick Lombardi, the son of Browns general manager Michael Lombardi. The younger Lombardi will serve as an assistant to Jim Harbaugh. The Lombardis are not related to former Packers great, Vince Lombardi.

Michael Lombardi was a finalist along with Trent Baalke when Jed York was looking for a general manager two years ago. Lombardi became friends with Harbaugh when both worked for the Raiders 10 years ago. Lombardi remained in Oakland until 2007 at which point he began working as an analyst for NFL Network. The Browns hired him at general manager and VP of Player Personnel earlier this year.

Lombardi also worked as a scout for the 49ers in the 1980s and has spoken at length on NFL Network about what he learned from Bill Walsh. The younger Lombardi presumably wants to emulate that experience with Harbaugh. Last year Mick Lombardi worked as a scouting assistant to the Patriots.

This is the only known change to the 49ers' coaching staff this offseason. The team lost director of player personnel Tom Gamble to the Eagles.

-- Matt Barrows