Adams added to football staff

49ers football coach Brad Lambert added a second assistant to his staff Monday, hiring former Wake Forest linebacker James Adams as defensive position coach.
Adams, 26, who was Wofford’s cornerbacks coach last season and spent two years on Wake Forest’s staff in 2008-09, will be one of Lambert’s top recruiters for a program that begins playing in 2013.
A native of Durham, Adams played 20 games for Lambert from when he was Wake Forest’s linebackers coach. He came back from a knee injury in 2004, making 10 tackles in 10 games as a senior in 2005. He was a graduate assistant at Wake Forest in 2008 and a recruiting coordinator assistant in 2009.
“Very high character,” Lambert said of Adams. “He’s sat in the same room with (me) before, so he knows what (I’m) about and how (I) do things.”
Adams’ specific spot on the defensive staff hasn’t been set yet, and likely won’t be until Lambert hires a defensive coordinator. Lambert said Adams will likely be the team’s secondary or linebackers coach, however.
Lambert has already hired offensive coordinator Jeff Mullen and can hire another assistant in May before filling out his staff in 2012.
The timing of Adams’ hiring means he’ll be one of the 49ers’ key recruiters. They can begin actively recruiting on April 15, although Lambert said they already have a board set up on a wall in their temporary offices in Charlotte’s athletic department.
“We’ve got who we need at what position and how many we can take, things like that,” Lambert said. “This is when it’s fun.”