The San Francisco 49ers have hired Jim Tomsula as head coach.

Tomsula was their defensive line coach and always their top internal candidate. Tomsula has had a strong relationship with the 49ers' front office for many years.

Trent Baalke and the 49ers came close to offering the job to Adam Gase.

“(He’s an) energetic guy. He brings a lot of energy. We feed off that,” 49ers outside linebacker Aldon Smith said of Tomsula late in the season. “He communicates well with us. If there’s something that’s going good we let him know. If there’s something we need to work on, we let him know. He does a good job of getting those things fixed so we can be efficient as a defense.”

Last year, Tomsula interviewed for the Minnesota Vikings’ head-coaching job that eventually went to Mike Zimmer.

Vic Fangio is unlikely to remain as defensive coordinator of the 49ers. Dennis Allen is a leading candidate to replace him.