The San Francisco 49ers and head coach Kyle Shanahan have announced the signing of the first six members of the team’s coaching staff.
Jon Embree Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends
Nick Kray Administrative Assistant to the Head Coach
T.C. McCartney Offensive Assistant
Rich Scangarello Quarterbacks
Bobby Turner Running Backs
Ray Wright Head Strength & Conditioning
Abridged coaching staff bios below, more detailed bios will be provided at a later date.
Embree, 51, enters his first season as the 49ers assistant head coach/tight ends coach after spending the previous three seasons (2014-16) as tight ends coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and one season (2013) as tight ends coach for the Cleveland Browns. Prior to his time with Cleveland, Embree spent two seasons (2011-12) as head coach at the University of Colorado. He first entered the NFL coaching ranks with the Kansas City Chiefs, where he was the team’s tight ends coach for three seasons (2006-08). He would later spend one season as the Washington Redskins tight ends coach in 2010. Before his time in Kansas City, Embree spent 11 seasons in the collegiate ranks. From 1993-94, he coached tight ends at Colorado, followed by four years (1995-98) coaching defensive ends at the school and would later return to tight ends for an additional two seasons (1999-2000). From 2001-02, he was Colorado’s wide receivers/kickers coach. In 2003, Embree went to UCLA as the school’s assistant head coach/wide receivers coach before moving to assistant head coach/tight ends coach for two seasons (2004-05). He began his coaching start as a volunteer coaching assistant at Colorado in 1991, followed by a job as the receivers/tight ends coach at Douglas County (Castle Rock, CO) High School in 1992. A native of Englewood, CO, Embree played collegiately as a tight end at Colorado. He played two seasons in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams (1987-88) and had a career-ending injury with the Seattle Seahawks in 1989.
Kray, 31, is the team’s administrative assistant to the head coach. He joins San Francisco after serving as the assistant director of football operations at North Carolina State University for two seasons (2015-16). Prior to his time at NC State, Kray served as the director of football and player development at Ball State University in 2014. He also spent time as director of football operations at Yale University (2012-13), offensive and special teams assistant at Villanova (2010-11), and as the defensive ends and defensive quality control coach at Eastern Illinois (2008-09). A native of Glendale Heights, IL, Kray played collegiately as a defensive lineman at Eastern Illinois University.
McCartney, 27, rejoins the 49ers as the team’s offensive assistant, having served in that same role for the 2015 season. He returns to San Francisco after spending the 2016 season as an offensive assistant at Louisiana State University. He originally entered the NFL coaching ranks in 2014 as a quality control coach with the Cleveland Browns. Prior to joining the Browns, McCartney was an offensive graduate assistant for two seasons (2012-13) at the University of Colorado. He first began coaching in 2011 as a graduate assistant at LSU. McCartney played quarterback at LSU for four seasons (2007-10) and was a member of the Tigers 2007 national championship team. A native of Boulder, CO, McCartney graduated from LSU with a bachelor’s degree in sports administration, is the son of former Colorado QB Sal Aunese and the grandson of former Colorado head coach Bill McCartney, the winningest football coach in Colorado history.
Scangarello, 44, enters his first season as the 49ers quarterbacks coach after spending last season (2016) as the offensive coordinator at Wagner College. He went to Wagner following one season (2015) as a quality control coach with the Atlanta Falcons. Prior to his time in Atlanta, Scangarello spent three seasons (2012-14) as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Northern Arizona University. He joined NAU after two seasons (2010-11) as the offensive coordinator/assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach at Millsaps (Jackson, MS) College. In 2009, Scangarello first entered the NFL coaching ranks as an offensive quality control coach with the Oakland Raiders. From 2007-08, he served as co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at UC-Davis following four seasons (2004-07) as an offensive assistant/passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach at Davis. He also had collegiate stops as an offensive assistant/quarterbacks coach at the University of Idaho (2002-03), offensive coordinator at Carleton (Northfield, MN) College (2001) and a graduate assistant/quarterbacks coach at Idaho (2000). He began his coaching career at UC-Davis as an offensive assistant from 1998-99. A native of Roseville, CA, Scangarello attended Sacramento State, where he earned a degree in business administration.
Turner, 67, enters his first season as the 49ers running backs coach after spending the previous two seasons (2015-16) in the same capacity with the Atlanta Falcons. Prior to his time in Atlanta, he spent four years (2011-14) as assistant head coach and running backs coach for the Washington Redskins. Turner originally entered the NFL with the Denver Broncos in 1995, where he spent 15 seasons (1995-2009) as the team’s running backs coach. Before entering the NFL coaching ranks, he was the assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and running backs coach for four seasons (1991-94) at Purdue University. Turner received his coaching start at his alma mater, Indiana State University, where he spent eight years (1975-82) holding various positions including offensive backfield, defensive secondary, running backs, special teams coordinator and strength and conditioning coordinator. He would go on to spend six seasons (1983-88) at Fresno State and two years (1989-90) at Ohio State University as running backs coach. A native of East Chicago, IN, Turner earned his bachelor’s degree from Indiana State in health and physical education in 1972 before receiving his master’s degree from the school in education/administration in 1976.
Wright, 45, enters his first season as the 49ers head of strength & conditioning after serving in the same role for five seasons (2010-14) with the Washington Redskins. Prior to Washington, Wright spent eight seasons with the Houston Texans, serving as the team’s assistant strength & conditioning coach (2002-08) and head strength & conditioning coach (2009). In 2001, he spent one season as the assistant strength & conditioning coach at the University of Maryland. Prior to Maryland, Wright spent six months with the Chicago Bears as a college and pro personnel assistant and spent the 2000 season as the recruiting coordinator at Cornell University. He originally entered the NFL with the Redskins, serving as a scouting intern (1997), college/pro scouting administrator (1998) and director of player programs (1999). A native of Fort Worth, TX, Wright played football at Duke (1990-95).