Former Mustang Al Everest Joins SF 49ers Staff

[MrMustang1965]

San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Nolan has hired veteran NFL assistant Al Everest to replace Larry Mac Duff as the guiding force of San Francisco's special teams.

Everest was the first candidate formerly interviewed by Nolan to replace Mac Duff, who left the team a week ago to become assistant head coach/co-defensive coordinator at the University of Texas.

Everest, 56, looks like a good fit for his new role with the 49ers. He has more than 34 years of coaching experience, including 10 seasons as a NFL special teams coach, most recently with the New Orleans Saints from 2000-2005. Everest, who was not retained in New Orleans last year when Sean Payton took over as head coach, was out of football last season. Everest also was special teams coach in Arizona from 1996-1999 before joining the Saints.

“Al brings a tremendous amount of experience to our coaching staff,” Nolan said early Sunday while announcing the hire. "His special teams units were extremely successful while he was with New Orleans. The Saints were among the leaders in just about every category during that time. Al is very excited about joining the 49ers, and I am equally excited about having him on board.”

Everest's special teams established a standard for excellence during his time in New Orleans. In 2004, the Saints had five players win NFC Special Teams Player for the Week honors. That total includes a streak of four weeks in a row to end the season, which tied the NFL record for the most consecutive winners since the inception of the award in 1993.

In 2002, the Saints had three touchdown returns, blocked five kicks and forced an interception for a touchdown. Everest was named 2002 NFL Special Teams Coach of the Year in a vote by his peers. In 2001, the Saints led the NFC in average drive start, featured the conference’s most accurate kicker and ranked among the leaders in kickoff return average.

Everest also has been around in football, and we're talking all around. His diverse background includes having worked on both sides of the ball and around the globe.

He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Southern Methodist University, in 1972. He then served as a graduate assistant coach at North Texas in 1973. From there, he was the secondary coach in 1974 and 1975 at NCAA Division II's Cameron, where he also was the school's head baseball coach. He then became the head coach and athletic director at the American School Foundation in Mexico City from 1976-1980 before switching sports to become baseball coach at U.S. International University from 1981-1987.

Everest then joined the professional football ranks, coaching in Italy from 1988-91. He was defensive coordinator for the Legnano Frogs from 1988-90 and spent 1991 as head coach of the Pesaro Angels. Legnano won the Italian championship in 1988 and 1989, and was the national runner-up in 1990.

Everest also spent part of 1991 as a scout for the Pro Spring Football League, before serving as secondary coach with the Arkansas Miners in 1992.

In 1992, he also was offensive coordinator of the San Antonio Force in the Arena Football League. He returned to Italy in 1993 as Legnano's defensive coordinator before returning to the United States to become an assistant coach at The Colony High School in Lewisville, Texas, where he coached in 1993 and 1994.

In 1995, Everest was special teams coordinator for the CFL Birmingham Barracudas, facilitating his ascent to that position at the NFL level.

[mrydel]

Al is one of my former teammates and a dear friend. During his playing days at SMU he was "affectionately" know as "dirty" Al. He could put a pretty solid cheap, but legal, shot on you. Perfect type of coach for special teams. The last time I communicated with him he was coaching special teams for the Cardinals, then I saw he had moved to the Saints. Congratulation my friend.

[mrydel]

I have to tell this story on Dirty Al. Freshman year we made a road trip to Austin to watch our Ponies play the Longhorns. The trip took approximately 7 hours because of the continual "I need a beer out of the trunk" (there were 7 or 8 of us un the car and no room for a cooler), followed by the "pull over I have to pee". We stayed at a motel on I35 and as we were checking out the morning following the game, Al noticed a linen closet open where the housekeepers were getting sheets to change beds. Al loaded up the trunk with sheets (I guess in our minds everything in Austin was Longhorn related and thus was open game). He procured enough bedsheets that he changed his bed every week and just threw the previous weeks sheets away. They lasted him the entire year. Not exactly the upstanding honest thing to do, but at the time, we were at war and these were the only spoils we could get after being thrashed on the field.

[MrMustang1965]

That wouldn't have been the Villa Capri Motel on I-35 in Austin, would it? Seems like many folks from Dallas would always stay there. Walking distance to the U.T. campus and a quick exit out of Austin via the interstate the next day.

[mrydel]

That wouldn't have been the Villa Capri Motel on I-35 in Austin, would it? Seems like many folks from Dallas would always stay there. Walking distance to the U.T. campus and a quick exit out of Austin via the interstate the next day.

No. We were not classy enough or rich enough for there. I believe it was called the Anchor Inn or something similar. The sign was an anchor if I recall. It was on I35 just as you came into Austin. Of course, "coming into Austin" was an entirely different place at that time.

(Hopefully the statute of limitations has expired)

[MrMustang1965]

That wouldn't have been the Villa Capri Motel on I-35 in Austin, would it? Seems like many folks from Dallas would always stay there. Walking distance to the U.T. campus and a quick exit out of Austin via the interstate the next day.

No. We were not classy enough or rich enough for there.

That's funny. Villa Capri = classy, rich.

[mrydel]

That wouldn't have been the Villa Capri Motel on I-35 in Austin, would it? Seems like many folks from Dallas would always stay there. Walking distance to the U.T. campus and a quick exit out of Austin via the interstate the next day.

No. We were not classy enough or rich enough for there.

That's funny. Villa Capri = classy, rich.

I know. It is all relative.