The San Francisco 49ers had a big coordinator change this offseason, as they dealt with the depature of Robert Saleh after just one season as the team’s defensive coordinator. The move was a big loss for the 49ers, but it allowed Kyle Shanahan to team up with Raheem Morris once again for the first time in a decade.
In fact, Shanahan had thought about Morris as his defensive coordinator when initially hired by the 49ers in 2017, but the Atlanta Falcons wanted to keep him as their coordinator. So, the dream
only finally came true this offseason following Morris’s departure from the Falcons, and it’s been a beaming success so far.
Despite dealing with a ton of young talent and injured personnel, Morris has the 49ers as the NFL’s third-best defense in EPA allowed per play and points allowed per game. He’s been able to put his own sprinkles on the defense, while we’re seeing players out there with a ton of confidence, notably in the secondary.
Morris’s background is different from his predecessors. Robert Saleh and DeMeco Ryans both had linebacker backgrounds, while Morris was a defensive back in college and has coached the position throughout his career.
Has that difference shown up with the 49ers secondary so far?
“Yeah, I think it definitely does,” Shanahan said of Morris’s background. “It also has to do with different schemes. When you play our true three-deep, four-under that we played for nine years with true zone drops instead of match drops and just our type of two shells and stuff, you get used to who’s supposed to stop plays. When you have zoning linebackers always underneath between the numbers and stuff, DBs don’t have to quite be as aggressive.
“But, then when you blitz, they need to. I think just from a schematic standpoint and from the first day of OTAs, those guys aren’t counting on linebackers so they have to be more aggressive in coverage. When you do that throughout OTAs, throughout training camp, you just naturally get more aggressive and better at stuff. Then sometimes we do have our linebackers under it, but they’re not always counting on them. They might be there sometimes, they might not. Those guys are playing concepts and stuff to stop plays without any help and that’s been their edge. I think it’s made them better. It’s given them more confidence in practice and I think that’s what we’re all seeing in games.”
That confidence has especially been seen in the 49ers’ cornerback room. Renardo Green has enjoyed a huge bounce-back year and just had two interceptions on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. Both Deommodore Lenoir and Upton Stout are playing at a good level. Malik Mustapha has bounced back after an up and down sophomore season. And even with Ji’Ayir Brown’s ups and downs, we’re seeing him make plays as well.
That’s not all, though. The 49ers have found ways to get pressure, despite being down a large group of linemen. Linebackers Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw are playing at a high level. As a whole, the defense has really been clicking, and that’s even against teams like the Seahawks, Broncos, and the Los Angeles Rams.
With how Morris has coached, there have already been the early questions of how long the 49ers can keep him. But, since he’s been a head coach twice in his career, there may be more of a pause for external teams to hire him.
Kyle Shanahan doesn’t plan on moving on anytime soon.
“I see Raheem here for as long as I’m here,” Shanahan added. “And if I wasn’t, I’m sure they wouldn’t be getting rid of him either. Raheem’s so good of a coach, you’ve always got to be nervous you’ll lose him as a head coach. But, if that doesn’t happen I don’t plan on him ever leaving. So, got to make sure that happens.”
