49ers notebook: Tevin Coleman exits with shoulder injury; defense gets banged up
The 49ers entered Sunday’s NFC Championship Game with the 53-man roster completely healthy. But that might not be the case two weeks from now when they play the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
Running back Tevin Coleman exited the 37-20 victory over the Green Bay Packers with 9:33 remaining in the second quarter when he got carted off the field with an apparent right shoulder injury. The team announced after halftime he would not return to the game.
He was seen afterwards in good spirits with his right arm in a sling.
“I’m hoping he’ll be alright next week,” Shanahan said. “I don’t totally know yet. I know he’s not ruled out or anything. I think there will be a good chance (he’s available).”
Coleman sustained the injury while falling forward on a 4-yard gain to the 9-yard line, a snap before Raheem Mostert’s second touchdown of the game. Mostert scored four touchdowns in a historic 220-yard performance, and had words of encouragement for Coleman as he was loaded on to the cart and taken to the locker room.
“What I said to him was, ‘we’re brothers,’” Mostert said. “I’ll have your back no matter what.”
Coleman had 21 yards on six carries and appeared poised for another heavy workload after getting 22 carries for 105 yards in the Divisional Round victory over the Minnesota Vikings. 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan after the game was optimistic Coleman would return for the Super Bowl.
49ers get nicked on defense
There was a sequence late in the third quarter where the 49ers’ stout defense got nicked up.
First, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner hobbled off the field with an apparent leg injury, but he returned a few plays later. He said after the game he banged knees with another player. Then linebacker Dre Greenlaw received attention from the training staff before jogging off wit an ankle injury.
Shanahan said afterwards Greenlaw was cleared to return to the game but the 49ers opted to keep Kwon Alexander at linebacker instead. The team was in sub packages and didn’t use three linebackers while Green Bay was passing to get back into the game.
And when the Packers converted a fourth down, slot cornerback K’Waun Williams grabbed his abdomen and came off the field. He was replaced by second-year pro D.J. Reed on a two-point conversion after Jimmy Graham scored a 43-yard touchdown.
Joe Woods candidate for Browns defensive coordinator
The 49ers may lose a member of their coaching staff to the Cleveland Browns after all.
Defensive backs coach/passing game coordinator Joe Woods has emerged as a primary candidate to become the team’s defensive coordinator, according to an ESPN report.
The news comes two weeks after San Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh interviewed for Cleveland’s head coaching vacancy that was filled by Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski. Woods and Stafanski worked together in Minnesota as assistants from 2006 to 2013.
Woods came to the 49ers last offseason after spending the past two years as the defensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos. Under Woods, San Francisco put together the best passing defense in the NFL allowing 169 net yards per game, the lowest average since the New York Jets in 2009.
Players credit Woods attention to detail and knowledge of opponents for helping the secondary become one of the best in the league after struggling in 2018.
According to the report, the Browns and Woods will wait until San Francisco’s season ends before he signs a contract.
