SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers added two assistant coaches to their defensive staff late Monday, hiring Vantz Singletary and Al Harris, both of whom have Hawai'i ties.

Singletary, who coached at the University of Hawai'i from 1999-2005, was hired as inside linebackers coach.

Harris, a star player at Leilehua High, Arizona State and the Chicago Bears, was hired as a pass-rush specialist coach.

Vantz Singletary is 49ers head coach Mike Singletary's nephew, but he's also a veteran college assistant coach who spent last season as the University of Buffalo's defensive tackles coach.

Harris' NFL career spanned 11 seasons with Chicago (1979-84, 86-88) and Philadelphia (1989-90).

"We are pleased to add Vantz Singletary and Al Harris to our coaching staff," Mike Singletary said on www.49ers.com. "Both possess the qualities and character that I am looking for to lead our group forward."

Vantz Singletary has been a successful collegiate coach for the past 17 seasons. With Buffalo in 2008, he helped lead the school to its first ever bowl appearance and a 2008 Mid-American Conference title.

His previous assignments were with Tennessee at Chattanooga (2006-07), UH, Southern (1997-98) and Trinity College (1992-96). He has coached numerous future NFL players while they were collegians, including current 49ers defensive lineman Isaac Sopoaga at UH.

Harris was drafted in the first round in 1979 by the Chicago Bears. He was the ninth player picked overall — the highest a Hawai'i player has ever been drafted.

"Al Harris' greatest attribute is as a teacher," said Mike Singletary. "We're excited about the addition of Al because our players will benefit from his teaching ability, in terms of the strategy and methodology of what goes into the pass rush."

BRONCOS

NEW COACH MCDANIELS HIRES EX-NINER NOLAN

Josh McDaniels went right to work yesterday figuring out how to fix the dreadful Denver defense that was Mike Shanahan's undoing.

His first order of business: luring former San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Nolan to the cause. Nolan agreed late yesterday to become the Broncos' fourth defensive coordinator in four years.

Nolan, 49, served as defensive coordinator with the Ravens, Jets, Redskins and Giants before getting his first head coaching job in San Francisco, where he was fired midway through his fourth season last year.

He got his start in the NFL as a special teams and linebackers coach on Dan Reeves' staff in Denver from 1987-92, and team owner Pat Bowlen said Monday he was excited at the prospect of Nolan's return.

Bowlen also would like to see McDaniels keep some of Shanahan's offensive coaches around but he's not going to insist on it.

NFL UNION

JUDGE UPHOLDS $28.1 MILLION FOR RETIREES

A federal judge in San Francisco has upheld a jury award of $28.1 million to retired football players who sued the NFL Players' Association for allegedly failing to properly market their images.

The judge said yesterday there was sufficient evidence presented at trial in November that the union actively sought to cut out the retired players from lucrative contracts for the benefit of current players.

The jury said the union owed the retirees $7.1 million in actual damages for failing to include them in lucrative marketing deals with Electronic Arts Inc., the maker of the popular "Madden NFL" video games, and other sponsorship agreements.

The jury also ordered $21 million in punitive damages. Distribution of the money will be determined later.

PRO BOWL

Seahawks: Seattle linebacker Julian Peterson is going to the Pro Bowl as an injury replacement for Tampa Bay's Derrick Brooks. This will be his fifth Pro Bowl appearance and third in a row for Peterson, the only Seahawk player selected to the game. Peterson had five sacks and 83 tackles in 15 games this season. He had 9.5 sacks and 10 sacks in his first two years with the Seahawks, the highest totals of his nine-year career.

Buccaneers: Tampa Bay's Ronde Barber and Davin Joseph were added to the NFC Pro Bowl squad yesterday, replacing Green Bay cornerback Charles Woodson and Dallas guard Leonard Davis. It's the fifth selection for Barber. It will be the first trip for Joseph, the Buccaneers' first-round draft pick in 2006.

Broncos: Denver center Casey Wiegmann has been added to the AFC roster for the Pro Bowl, earning his first trip to the league's all-star game in his 13th NFL season. Wiegmann centered a line that set a franchise record by allowing just 12 sacks this season and was second in the league with a 396-yard average.

ELSEWHERE

Lions: Detroit interviewed Miami defensive backs coach Todd Bowles for its vacant head coaching job. Bowles, 45, is one of several candidates to replace Rod Marinelli, who was fired Dec. 29 after the franchise finished the league's first 0-16 campaign.

Seahawks: Robert Prince was hired yesterday as Seattle's new wide receivers coach, and coach Jim Mora is retaining a dozen members of predecessor Mike Holmgren's staff. Mora announced the hiring of Prince from Jacksonville during his official introduction as Holmgren's replacement.