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Ever since Kyle Shanahan took over as the San Francisco 49ers’ head coach in 2017, defense has been a trademark of the team. Whenever it has played well, and especially whenever it has been a Super Bowl contender, its defense has led the way.
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However, that defense has had a couple of holes over the last couple of years, particularly in defending against the run and a lack of pressure on opposing quarterbacks. There was a feeling that the Niners would take a step back on that side of the football when Raheem Morris replaced Robert Saleh as their defensive coordinator coming into this season.
But the Niners are currently 4-0 and rank third in the NFL in points allowed. Shanahan seems to be content with the job Morris has done so far.
What has Morris tweaked?
While speaking to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco, Shanahan said that Morris has made one main tweak to the team’s defensive scheme.
“We always had a very similar scheme where we were always playing four down,” Shanahan told Maiocco. “When you do that, it’s a very ‘bend but don’t break’ defense. When you mix up four down and five down, you can’t always count on a hook linebacker.”
Last season, while employing mainly a minimal four-man pass rush, the 49ers had just 20 sacks, which was by far the least in the NFL. This season, they still rank fairly low at 26th with six sacks, but their defensive line has been depleted by injuries, and they have still gotten key stops when needed in order to hold opponents at bay.
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The Niners’ pass coverage has been solid, and that is something Shanahan acknowledged.
“Raheem’s had to be so much more aggressive with how he coaches these guys,” Shanahan continued. “To me, it’s really worked for him because they’ve been so much more aggressive in coverage. Now we can blitz more.”
Morris had been the Atlanta Falcons’ head coach during the previous two seasons. He had previously been the Falcons’ defensive coordinator for part of the 2020 season, and he was later the Los Angeles Rams’ defensive coordinator from 2021 to 2023, which earned him a Super Bowl championship ring.
His defense will be put to a test this Sunday when the Niners go up against the defending world champion Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field. Seattle is mostly known for its defense, but it has a solid quarterback in Sam Darnold and arguably the league’s best wide receiver in Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
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This story was originally published October 11, 2026 at 7:00 AM.