Better Than Saleh? Raheem Morris Has the Injury-Plagued 49ers Defense Playing Elite Football

The San Francisco 49ers have maintained a high standard of defensive leadership throughout Kyle Shanahan’s tenure. That lineage was established by Robert Saleh during his original four-year run as defensive coordinator, followed by DeMeco Ryans' masterclass stint. After navigating mixed results under Steve Wilks and Nick Sorensen, the 49ers brought Saleh back for a second DC stint in 2025 following his tenure with the New York Jets.

When Saleh departed once again after the 12-5 2025 campaign, Shanahan turned to former Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris to take the reins.

Through the first five weeks of the 2026 season, Morris may be elevating the defense beyond what Saleh built across both of his stints in Santa Clara.

To evaluate Morris’ immediate impact, it helps to examine Saleh's numbers across his five total seasons as San Francisco's defensive coordinator (2017–2020 and 2025):

Saleh’s signature approach relied on a wide-nine front, heavy four-man pass rushes, and a simplified cover-3 shell behind it. While effective, the system relied on having elite and healthy edge rushers to produce high-level pressure without blitzing. When injuries hit the front four or during his 2025 return, the unit often sat in the middle of the pack in scoring and yardage ranks.

In contrast to Saleh's preference for four-man standard rushes, Morris has engineered an elite defense despite facing severe injury adversity along the defensive line. San Francisco has been forced to navigate games without Nick Bosa, Mykel Williams, Alfred Collins, and several key rotational pieces.

Despite those absences, the 49ers defense through Week 5 ranks:

2026 49ers Defensive Ranks Through Week 5:

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EPA Allowed / Play : [3rd]  ████████████████████░░

Points Allowed / GM: [3rd]  ████████████████████░░

Yards Allowed / GM : [6th]  █████████████████░░░░░

Rather than relying solely on superstars, Morris’ system is maximizing secondary depth and mid-season signees. Interior defender Osa Odighizuwa leads the team with 15 pressures, while former New England second-round pick Keion White has registered 13 pressures and 8 defensive stops. Rookie standout Gracen Halton has blossomed into a primary disruption engine, posting three pressures and a forced-fumble touchdown in Week 5 against Seattle.

Where Saleh preferred standard four-man rushes with a lower blitz rate (23.4% in 2025), Morris uses more varied fronts, stunt concepts, and strategic blitzing (averaging over 27% through Week 4). This has allowed San Francisco to generate an average of 17 pressures per game despite a heavily depleted edge rotation.

San Francisco’s secondary has transformed into a primary strength. Cornerback Renardo Green (92.3 PFF grade in Week 5) and safety Malik Mustapha are putting together career-best stretches, playing with an aggressive edge unlocked by Morris’ coverage tweaks.

Speaking on Morris' immediate influence, head coach Kyle Shanahan emphasized how quickly the new coordinator has elevated the entire unit:

"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... 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."

While Robert Saleh laid the groundwork for San Francisco's modern defensive standards across two distinct stints, Raheem Morris is demonstrating a level of schematic flexibility that keeps the 49ers dominant regardless of who is available in the trenches.