49ers hire Chris Foerster as offensive line coach

The San Francisco 49ers have agreed to a two-year contract with offensive line expert Chris Foerster.

Kyle Shanahan believes in loyalty and second chances which is why Foerster is officially now a team employee and an on field coach after two seasons as an independent contractor for the club.

If you do any type of internet search on Foerster the first thing you’re likely to see is the infamous video of him snorting a white substance while in an office at the Miami Dolphins facility.

That was October 9, 2017. Foerster immediately resigned and checked himself into a rehabilitation program. Since then, the offensive line coach has lived a much simpler life, religiously working on his recovery through 12-step meetings, and writing scouting reports for the 49ers for two seasons.

When the club quietly gave Foerster a consulting role in 2018, he was an independent contractor and not technically on the team’s payroll. Thus, they were not bound to announce the hire.

Foerster’s assignment would be to remotely watch film on both the 49ers and their upcoming opponents and send in written evaluations of their strengths, weaknesses and tendencies.

In 2019, he was allowed at the facility to attend offensive line meetings but still prohibited from being on the field as a coach.

Now finally, in 2020, Foerster will return to the field.

As long as Foerster remained on the straight and narrow, he would have a place with the club, Shanahan said when we spoke exclusively back in August 2019.

“He’s done that exactly the right way for two years,” Shanahan said. “We will see if he continues to do that, and then we will reassess that after this year. If it continues to go well, I think he has a chance to get his life back on track. And that’s really all we are trying to do.” Shanahan stayed as true to his word just as Foerster did.

Foerster was in the NFL for 24 straight years from 1993-2017 as a coach for seven different teams including four seasons in Washington during Mike and Kyle Shanahan’s tenure. He was also a coach in Tampa Bay at the same time general manager John Lynch was a player with the team.