Mike Nolan agreed to a five-year contract with the San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday to become the 15th head coach in franchise history.
Nolan, a longtime NFL assistant who was Baltimore's defensive coordinator the past three seasons, accepted the job Monday and met with 49ers owner John York to work out a deal.
Nolan will be introduced Wednesday in San Francisco as the successor to Dennis Erickson, fired earlier in the month after the 49ers went 2-14 to match the worst record in franchise history.
"I think there's a lot of talent on this football team, obviously a lot of it was injured last year, which hurt the team ..." Nolan told KPIX-TV. "It's been proven time and again in this league that it's not that long of a turnaround to get back on track. And that's encouraging for everyone including me."
Nolan is the son of former 49ers coach Dick Nolan, who won 56 games with San Francisco from 1968-1975. They are the fifth father-son duo to coach in the NFL, and the first to coach the same team since Bum and Wade Phillips led the New Orleans Saints.
Though Mike Nolan has never been a head coach, he built some of the NFL's most respected defenses during 11 seasons as a coordinator for four teams.
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