Coach Staley? 49ers legend working with staff in SoCal

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COSTA MESA -- A slimmed-down Joe Staley made his return to the field for the 49ers on Thursday.

Staley, who announced his retirement during the 2020 NFL Draft, is testing his coaching chops this week as the 49ers practice against the Los Angeles Chargers.

“He’s going to be here this week,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “He lives pretty close to here, so he just wanted to come up for the weekend and see what coaching is about.

“I know he has a passion for it, and he wants to be around football. He wants to decide if he wants to work this many hours before he just jumps into it. He’ll get a look at that this week and we’ll see what he thinks.”

Staley, who turns 37 in two weeks, spent all 13 seasons of his NFL career with the 49ers. He was a six-time Pro Bowl performer at left tackle and was named to the NFL’s All-Decade team for the 2010s.

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“We’ll see as we get going forward,” Shanahan said. “Yesterday was his first day working, it was our off day and he was so amped up. He was kind of annoying us all day.”

Staley is still weighing his post-football career plans. Coaching and a role in the media are among his many options.

“We’ll see how he does,” Shanahan said of Staley spending time with the coaching staff. “I know he’ll be opinionated, and I’m just pumped to have him. Hope he enjoys it.”

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