SANTA CLARA — Like Fred Warner, Tatum Bethune takes pride in his communication skills.
Yet when the 49ers underwent a sudden and shocking changing of the guard at middle linebacker, there wasn’t so much as a spoken word between mentor and pupil.
“When Fred got hurt, we just gave each other a look and honestly just spoke just by looking at each other,” Bethune said this week. “We understood what needed to be done and the challenge I have ahead of me and the opportunity I have also.”
Bethune steps into the starting lineup Sunday night when the 49ers host the Atlanta Falcons (5:20 p.m., NBC) at Levi’s Stadium, and the challenge couldn’t be more daunting. All he has to do is replace a four-time first-team All-Pro who one day may have a bust in Canton and whose leadership skills may even exceed his athletic gifts.
The postseason hopes for the 49ers took a big hit with 7:48 left in the first quarter when Warner suffered a broken and dislocated right ankle in a 30-19 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Warner is done for the season barring a miracle postseason comeback after undergoing surgery Tuesday.
“He’s the best in the league, probably a future Hall of Famer,” Bethune said. “So that’s big shoes to fill, honestly, and everybody knows that. I’ll just be me, Tatum Bethune. I’m here for a reason. They understand my traits and attributes and that’s what I’m going to do.”
In his second year out of Florida State, Bethune (6-foot-1, 230 pounds) was a seventh-round draft pick, No. 251 overall and the last of eight players selected by the 49ers in 2024. As a rookie he was inactive five times and played only a dozen snaps on defense until starting at strongside linebacker and getting 39 snaps in the regular-season finale against Arizona.
Bethune exceeded that number against the Bucs with 45 snaps and led the 49ers with 10 tackles. There was a coverage bust Bethune failed to identify that led to a 34-yard touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield to Kameron Johnson but all in all coach Kyle Shanahan was pleased after watching film on the flight home.
“It starts off a little depressing for me, just how the game went and thinking about it without Fred,” Shanahan said, “Then I stopped and re-watched it a different way from a different light and it was very inspiring watching how Tatum played.”
Bethune is more of a classic thumper while Warner is a modern sideline-to-sideline range rover. But he’s watched and listened closely, picking up Warner’s study habits as well as eating habits in terms of nutrition to the point where he’s cut out sweets and even his obsession for Swedish Fish candy.
“Fred’s been everything to me, a teacher, a brother, a leader, just a friend too,” Bethune said. “Our goal is to go out there and make him proud and show him the legacy and the standard that he set for this San Francisco 49er defense is going to be upheld.”
Bethune lasted as long as he did in the draft because he’s not an NFL Scouting Combine warrior.
“He didn’t light up the world with the physical, tangible testing,” general manager John Lynch said on KNBR-680. “But the thing that kept being communicated from our scouts when we start watching film is he plays like a Niner. He’s a run-and-hit guy, and when you start talking to people at Florida State, this guy commands the huddle. He’s a leader to the Nth degree.”
Linebackers coach Johnny Holland said Bethune came in to his second year with both sound body and mind.
“He definitely became a better pro,” Holland said. “His body is a lot better, he’s a lot quicker. He’s always had the ability to thump and be violent. And he’s instinctive.”
The son of two educators, Bethune takes his studies seriously. He spent much of Wednesday’s open locker room with his face buried in a notebook, and has watched Warner’s demeanor closely. Bethune will wear the green dot on his helmet that identifies him as the defensive signal caller and likely won’t leave the field against Atlanta alongside weakside linebacker Dee Winters, a sixth-round draft pick in 2023.
“Be poised and confident in everything you do,” Bethune said. “That’s what you want from a `Mike’ linebacker. That’s what I’m going to do. I’ve always been confident. Now it’s about getting reps and understanding what teams are trying to do to you. I’m getting the hang of that. It’s a great challenge for me and Dee. We’re both young. We obviously haven’t seen a lot of football in the NFL, but we love to play and have fun.”
Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh supports Bethune’s wish to be himself rather than attempt to be a Warner clone.
“It’s Tatum’s opportunity to go run the defense and run the show,” Saleh said. “Tatum just needs to be Tatum. He doesn’t have to make any plays that are spectacular. He just needs to make his play. “
Bethune takes his job seriously. At Florida State he was voted the Monk Bonasorte Award for “displaying heart on the field” as well as the Bobby Bowden Leadership Award. Second-year cornerback Renardo Green, a teammate of Bethune’s with the Seminoles, saw it first hand.
“He leads by example,” Green said. “If you’re tripping and he thinks you’ve got more in the tank, he’ll let you know, He’s very self-aware, working on himself and he always keeps it real. That’s contagious to everybody else because they see what he’s doing.”
Bethune welcomes the responsibility.
“I call it a firefighter, man,” Bethune said. “It’s a fire. You’ve got to put it out. I was born to be a leader. I’ve been winning since I was a little kid, since Little League football, and I’m just trying to keep it going.”