With the 49ers coming off their best defensive performance of the season in their biggest game of the year so far, it’s no surprise there is a lot of praise coming the way of coordinator Raheem Morris.
The 49ers’ outstanding defensive showing in the thrilling win over the Seattle Seahawks — which saw San Francisco force four turnovers, sack Sam Darnold five times and restrict Seattle to a 30 percent success rate — was one in which every area of the defense excelled.
San Francisco’s front consistently
won when defending both the run and the pass, the linebacker play was typically excellent, and the secondary’s ascension continued as the defensive backs thrived in coverage, albeit against a Seahawks receiving group light on difference-makers outside of the not fully healthy Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Through five games, the 49er defense has taken huge strides after what could at best be described as a below-par year with Robert Saleh as coordinator in 2025, though Saleh was hamstrung by a huge amount of injury adversity.
Following the display in Seattle, that improvement is reflected by the numbers, with the San Francisco defense third in the NFL by Expected Points Added per play and eighth in the NFL by success rate.
Morris’ fingerprints are all over the progress made by the 49er defense, but, speaking in his Monday conference call, head coach Kyle Shanahan identified where the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons head coach has arguably made the biggest difference.
Shanahan said:
“It doesn’t surprise me with Raheem. I’ve just been around him for too long. He’s one of the best people and best coaches I’ve ever been around. I tried to bring him here originally when I left Atlanta. They wouldn’t let him out. So, it’s been a long time coming to get him here. He’s done an unbelievable job this year, especially with the injuries, but just overall everything he’s mixed up schematically. I love the confidence he’s given our DBs and the way they’ve been playing since training camp. He’s had a real huge effect on this team and we’re very lucky to have him.”
With an extensive background of coaching defensive backs in his career, the 49ers will have entered the year hoping Morris could have a transformative influence on their secondary.
To this point, those hopes have been realized and then some.
Renardo Green is enjoying a breakout year at cornerback. His three interceptions in five games mark a career-high following his pair in Seattle and his passer rating when targeted of 45.0 is seventh among all corners.
Deommodore Lenoir’s numbers aren’t as impressive, but his lockdown performance against Courtland Sutton was key to the 49ers’ Week 4 win over the Denver Broncos. In addition, the play at safety through five weeks has served to allay concerns about San Francisco’s options at that spot, with Marques Sigle, Ji’Ayir Brown and Malik Mustapha all producing impressive play in varying amounts of time on the field.
The challenge for the secondary and the defense overall will be to maintain this tremendous start. Given the difficulty of playing cornerback and secondary, there will clearly be ups and downs. However, if the defensive backfield can maintain a relative level of consistency, Morris’ unit should be in good shape to stay in the upper echelons of the league.
For this young defense to regularly play at the level they produced in Week 5 will be a big ask, but in Morris, they look to have exactly the right mentor.
