The Raiders hired 2014 49ers assistant Brad Seely as their special teams coach this week and now the 49ers have returned the favor by hiring a member of last year’s Raiders coaching staff.
According to multiple reports, former Oakland defensive coordinator Jason Tarver will be part of Jim Tomsula’s first 49ers staff as a linebackers coach and senior assistant. The possibility of the hiring was first reported last week, although it was unclear at that point which job Tarver would be taking.
It will be Tarver’s second stint with the 49ers. He was on the staff from 2001-2010 and coached outside linebackers for the final six years of his tenure. Tarver ran the defense in Oakland for three years and the Raiders never finished better than 28th in the league in points allowed over that span. If NaVorro Bowman and Patrick Willis make healthy returns in 2015, Tarver will find himself working with more talent in his new gig however.
The 49ers still need a defensive coordinator and won’t get a chance to talk to Bengals assistant Vance Joseph about that job after Cincinnati blocked him from interviewing.