San Francisco 49ers Assistant is a UK Offensive Line Coach Target

(Editor’s Note: Kentucky Sports Radio’s Matt Jones reports Zach Yenser is expected to be the Wildcats’ new offensive line coach, barring “some some last minute change.” Learn more about the native Kentuckian’s coaching career from this Thursday morning profile.)

Kentucky could find its next offensive line coach from the professional ranks. KSR’s Matt Jones shared that Zach Yenser is a “name to watch” as the Wildcats search for a new leader of the Big Blue Wall after Eric Wolford departed following one season in Lexington.

Before I tell you more about Zach Yenser, let me share an amusing anecdote about the 49ers assistant. A little more than a year ago sources told KSR that Rams’ assistant Shane Waldron was in Stoops’ crosshairs to be the next UK offensive coordinator. A few days later, we figured out we had the wrong Rams’ assistant. History repeated itself. Not long after Wolford abruptly departed, we heard a 49ers assistant was in the mix, Butch Barry. On Wednesday the Broncos announced they hired Barry to coach the Denver offensive line. Turns out, we just had the wrong 49ers assistant.

Yenser Checks Two Important Boxes

Freddie Maggard expressed the need for the next offensive line coach to understand John Schlarman’s legacy and its impact on the culture of the Kentucky football program.

“The Big Blue Wall acts as a connecting mechanism between the program and the fans,” Freddie wrote. “Kentucky’s status as a blue-collar program was built along the line of scrimmage.”

Yenser is well aware of how Schlarman operated as an offensive line coach. After all, Yenser’s first coaching job was serving as a grad assistant for Schlarman at Troy in 2007. A native of Ft. Mitchell in northern Kentucky, in Yenser’s first year on Neal Brown’s staff the Trojans went 8-4.

More recently Yenser served as the San Francisco 49ers assistant offensive line coach. Over the last three seasons he’s learned from one of Liam Coen’s favorite head coaches, Kyle Shanahan. Shanahan’s style and scheme are not so different than what Sean McVay taught Coen in Los Angeles. When discussing scheme throughout his Kentucky tenure, Coen frequently named dropped “Sean” and “Kyle.” Yenser’s wide zone experience in San Francisco could be exactly what the Big Blue Wall needs to take a step forward under Coen in 2022.

Yenser’s Lengthy Resume

In between his stops in Troy and San Francisco, Yenser went just about everywhere. There are some stops with connective tissue to Kentucky.

Yenser hitched his wagon to Sonny Dykes at Louisiana Tech in 2010. He spent three seasons in Ruston, then followed Dykes to Cal. He also worked at SMU with Dykes during the 2018 season. Most of the BBN knows Dykes as a candidate for the Kentucky coaching job when Mark Stoops took over. Mark probably knows Dykes better as Mike Stoops’ offensive coordinator at Arizona.

In addition to his work with Dykes at multiple stops, he was Kansas’ offensive line coach for three seasons. A journeyman in the profession, Yenser could finally return to his old Kentucky home to continue John Schlarman’s legacy in Lexington.