It's been a busy week for 49ers fans. First came the news that there's a new defensive coordinator in Santa Clara. The San Francisco 49ers are reportedly hiring Raheem Morris to replace Robert Saleh. How will the defense look under the former Atlanta Falcons head coach? It's a question many are asking.
Then on Thursday, it became official that 49ers' legend Roger Craig will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August. It's long overdue, and well-deserved. Perhaps it's because I invested a lot of time and energy in helping argue his case and hoping for this outcome, but I am extremely happy for Craig. I doubt people realize how this (having to wait three decades to get into the Hall of Fame) has affected Craig personally. And now, he no longer has to wait or wonder if it will ever happen.
We opened the 49ers Webzone mailbag to see what fans were thinking after the news that Morris is being hired as defensive coordinator. You had some great questions for us. Let's take a look.
Do you think Morris will be trying to persuade any Falcons players to join the squad? Kyle Pitts would be a dream scenario, but I imagine he has some D linemen in mind who would be upgrades. - Andy G.
It wouldn't surprise me if we see a couple of former Atlanta Falcons players follow Morris to San Francisco. Last year, Robert Saleh was part of the process of who to sign/draft. I expect Morris to have some say, as well. And he will certainly have a lot of up-close information on those players.
Some of the Falcons' current unrestricted free agents on the defensive side of the ball include: DL David Onyemata, EDGE Leonard Floyd, EDGE Arnold Ebiketie, LB Kaden Elliss, CB Dee Alford, S Ronnie Harrison, LB Troy Andersen, and LB DeAngelo Malone.
Floyd would be an obvious choice, but will he want to return to the 49ers?
What does Morris bring to the table that got him the nod over Bradley? (Not hating, just curious) - Chuck S.
Morris has coached on offense (wide receivers/passing game coordinator), he's been an assistant coach on defense (secondary and defensive coordinator), and he's been a head coach twice. So he has years of experience on both sides of the ball and is highly respected around the league.
Morris also led the defense of a team that won the Super Bowl (2021).
But is he an upgrade over Gus Bradley? I don't know that yet. Bradley had some highly ranked defenses, although that was years ago. Morris' defenses, however, have never been among the NFL's best. Still, I believe he's probably a better option than Bradley. I just wish the 49ers had been able to get Jim Schwartz. I would have been more excited about that hire.
Will Morris still be running the wide-nine or switching to the 3-4? - Mark J.
It will be interesting to see how the defense looks under Morris. He has primarily run a 3-4 defense, while the 49ers have stuck with more of a 4-3 with the wide-nine. But Kyle Shanahan spoke about how he liked the defense using five defensive linemen more often. Could that mean he would be more open to transitioning to a new look under Morris?
And how will a change like that affect Nick Bosa? He's been vocal about his preference to line up with his hand in the dirt. John Lynch will speak at the NFL Scouting Combine in a couple of weeks. I'll be stunned if he's not asked about this. Shanahan will speak at the NFL owners' meeting (I believe that's in late March). And I'll be curious to hear how each of them answers that question. We likely won't hear from Morris until later in the spring.
But Mossi has shown a lot of flexibility in previous years. I doubt the defensive look will be a complete overhaul. More on this below.
Will we be keeping Kendricks? - Debi N.
I wouldn't mind seeing Eric Kendricks return in 2026. He played a pivotal role in the 49ers' postseason win in Philadelphia. It will come down to mutual interest between Kendricks and the 49ers. And, of course, the money.
How does Morris affect pick #27? - Invader49er
If the 49ers decide to draft for defense in round one, Morris will have plenty of influence on who that will be. But I believe they'll go offense. Don't lock me into this, but right now, I'm thinking wide receiver.
I really like to know what their prominent front will look like. Not coach-speak: "We will be flexible." Because I have to be honest, the Falcons D was not impressive against our diminished run O. I saw a ton of stand-up DEs, and that is not Bosa's jam. - Lowbridge
Stopping the run will be priority one for Morris and the 49ers' defense. They have to improve at stopping the run. Per Kyle Posey, of Niners Nation, "Morris's Rams' defense aligns with the 49ers' defensive philosophy heading into last offseason: stop the run. From 2021 through 2023, while Morris was the Rams' defensive coordinator, they ranked seventh in rushing EPA and fifth in rushing success rate." That's good news for the 49ers' defense.
But the question asked was how the defensive front would look. I guess I don't tend to worry too much about that, because how often will the 49ers even be in their base defense? It's not as often as we tend to think. You'll see that Posey mentions that in his next quote.
"At his core, Morris runs an odd front," Posey added. "So you're going to hear a lot about how Nick Bosa will have to stand up, maybe five plays a season. You can run 5-man fronts with your base defensive end having his hand in the ground—more on that shortly. It's worth noting that Morris has shown flexibility. Back in 2020, his defense ran only an odd front — a 3-4 look —17 percent of the time."
Check out that article by Posey. He breaks down what we might expect from a Morris-led defense. It's good stuff, and he explains it better than I can.
Just be sure to finish reading this mailbag first.
Will the substation talk have a negative impact on free agency? - Seth W.
It certainly could. Even if you don't believe the substation has negatively impacted injuries, some of the players are expressing concerns that it might. Christian McCaffrey has. George Kittle has. Kendrick Bourne has. He even mentioned how the grass on that side of the practice field is dead, compared to on the other side of the substation: "Our grass is brown on that side, and the soccer field on the other side is green. That kind of trips me out a little bit, but I don't know."
Kendrick Bourne addressed the electrical substation next to the 49ers facility:
"I kind of buy it. I'm a conspiracy theorist, so I don't know. Our grass is brown on that side and the soccer field on the other side is green. That kind of trips me out a little bit, but I don't… pic.twitter.com/dLA71dbbkw
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) February 6, 2026
If players are discussing it, and apparently they have been for years, according to Delanie Walker, then the 49ers should investigate its impact. If for no other reason, to assure their players—and potential players—that there's no cause for concern.
Should and would the 49ers sign Joey Bosa to play with his brother? Or is one Bosa enough for the team? - Ed H.
It's possible. They tried to bring in Joey Bosa last offseason. He ultimately decided to sign with the Buffalo Bills.
Bosa is an unrestricted free agent, so the 49ers will likely check in on him again. Whether or not they sign him remains to be seen. It would be interesting to see if Bosa would play on the other side of Bosa, or if Bosa would back up Bosa.
How will you handle watching the Seahawks play in the Super Bowl? - Jeff B.
Tranquilizers? Or maybe I'll be lucky and get the flu on Sunday morning.
That's all we have for this edition of the 49ers Webzone Mailbag. We'll be back with a new mailbag once free agency begins. Or if something big happens before that. And with this team, you never know.