How Brant Boyer has turned the 49ers special teams around, leading them to being #1 in this key metric

When the San Francisco 49ers went from Richard Hightower as a special teams coordinator to Brian Schneider, it was like the saying, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” Outside of Robbie Gould’s excellence, the coverage units were shaky at best, the return game was non-existent, and the special teams units were a net negative.

During the first month of Brant Boyer, it felt like he picked up where his predecessors left off. There was a special teams penalty on the first punt of the season. The kicker missed his first field goal attempt. His next kick was blocked.

We’ll never know how much of a say Boyer had in releasing Jake Moody, but up until Eddy Pineiro’s injury a couple of weeks ago, the 49ers had one of the highest-rated field goal units in the NFL. Pineiro was the most valuable kicker in the sport through ten games, going 22-for-22. Advanced metrics only rated Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey higher. In a way, he saved the 49ers’ season — to some degree, at least.

Boyer had issues beyond the kicking game. In Week 2, the New Orleans Saints had a 34-yard kickoff return and a 19-yard punt return. In Week 3, the Arizona Cardinals had kickoff returns of 33 and 36 yards. The dam broke in Week 4, when the Jacksonville Jaguars had a 54-yard kickoff return and an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown.

Something had to change. Whatever Boyer’s message was, it worked. According to Kyle Shanahan, one thing Boyer isn’t afraid to do is call players out:

“He doesn’t sugarcoat around anything. When guys aren’t performing up to the standard, he’ll call them out and let them know. I think guys know what to expect and usually when it’s like that, guys just as a group, tend to get better each week and that’s what’s happened.”

Since those early-season woes that led to the special teams debacle in Jacksonville, the 49ers have only allowed one punt return of more than 15 yards and one kickoff return of over 35 yards.

Boyer, a former fullback, has gotten through to his coverage units. In Shanahan’s mind, Boyer earned the player’s respect:

“I just think he’s so consistent. You know, he’s a former player who did all that dirty work for so many years as a fullback and special teams player. So, I think automatically when you’re like that, you earn a lot of respect just going into room with players, but that never lasts unless you know what you’re talking about and you work extremely hard and you’re consistent. I think he does all those things. So, he has got a great pedigree. He has been doing it for a while and he’s pretty simple in his approach in terms of, he studies the tape, he coaches these guys hard.”

Sometimes, it’s as simple as not beating yourself. The 49ers have had five games since the Jaguars, during which they’ve missed no more than one tackle on their coverage teams. What makes that impressive is acknowledging how injuries have affected this team’s depth chart, and how the backups backups are playing on special teams. It’s forced Boyer to tweak his lineups weekly, but the product on the field has been consistent.

Results have to matter. We’re 13 weeks into the season. By now, Boyer should know whether or not his plan is working. Not only have the results mattered, but they’ve helped the 49ers more than Shanahan could have ever imagined.

FTN, run by the creator of the site formerly known as Football Outsiders, has special teams metrics for each individual unit, as well as a metric called hidden points. They factor in whether the punt was returnable or adjust for how far the returner got based on the distance of the kick and where it was caught. Just about everything you can think of goes into these ratings for each kicking team.

The 49ers are +22.8 in hidden points this season, per FTN. The next-closest team is the Houston Texans at 14.7. The only other team in double-digits is the Chicago Bears at 10.8. Come playoff time, this will give the Niners a much-needed edge.

We know the 49ers are going to move the ball. They are second-to-last in the NFL in punts per drive. Assuming Eddy Pineiro continues to be dineiro, San Francisco has a high probability of scoring at least three points on every drive. Why aren’t the 49ers punting? Well, Skyy Moore and Brian Robinson’s excellence in the return game has led the Niners to having the best starting field position in the NFL by more than two yards. San Francisco is starting drives, on average, at their 35-yard line. Three first downs and you’re in Pineiro’s range.

The hidden points, from starting field position to punts that aren’t returnable, will benefit the defense as well. Thomas Morstead pinning the Cleveland Browns at the 10-yard line is a prime example. You’d hope that eight out of ten times, that doesn’t lead to a scoring drive in the way it did in Week 13. Those are the probabilities you must weigh as a coach. Then again, against a playoff offense, 4th & 4 scenarios are situations where Shanahan keeps his offense on the field.

One thing we’re confident about is that the 49ers’ special teams are no longer a liability and are now a weapon. That’s the first time you can say that during Shanahan’s tenure.