Raheem Morris, Defensive Coordinator, SF 49ers

Originally posted by ninersrule4:

Originally posted by ninerjok:
Donte Whitner thinks this hiring sucked ass. I didn't hear any of his analysis as to why but everyone's entitled to their opinion. Opinions are like a*****es. Everybody has one.

Has Morris ever been considered a good DC? Doesn't he have 1 good year?

I would say winning a SB as a DC is pretty damn good. And his D had an impact in that game.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

Originally posted by zeppfan1:

Originally posted by Kolohe:

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

The #49ers are expected to hire veteran defensive backs coach Jerry Gray, sources tell @CBSSports.

Gray was assistant head of defense for Atlanta the last three years. In addition to that and his time as a DB coach, was also a defensive coordinator for both the Titans and Bills. pic.twitter.com/RN0r4aWFuY

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) February 15, 2026

New DB coach all but official

Love the experience he has, I think it's gonna be a great hire. Daniel Bullocks seemed more like a buddy to the players than an inspiring coach. Need someone to light a fire under these DB's asses and make plays,

Yep. He was a good player too. I remember intercepting quite a few passes with him on the Rams in Tecmo Super Bowl 😂

Great hire honestly because our DBs were making way too many mental mistakes out there. We need an experienced guy to coach up the young guys. Green, Sigle, Malik, Stout, plus the likely CB and S we bring in thru the draft.

It would be absolutely inexcusable to not replace Brown. I don't care if he's a good dude, he's not a needle mover as a football player. Let him go and get the next superstar at S. Sigle can compete and let the best man win.

Absolutely all of this!!

This hire got me feeling confident about the secondary, I can't wait for camp

Originally posted by Crown:

Originally posted by ninersrule4:

Originally posted by ninerjok:
Donte Whitner thinks this hiring sucked ass. I didn't hear any of his analysis as to why but everyone's entitled to their opinion. Opinions are like a*****es. Everybody has one.

Has Morris ever been considered a good DC? Doesn't he have 1 good year?

I would say winning a SB as a DC is pretty damn good. And his D had an impact in that game.

Right… so one good year?

based on what John Lynch said yesterday about the wide 9, I get the feeling we're going to see a ton of base 5-man front, boys.

Now that the main free agency signing and the draft along with UDFA signings are done. What do fans portend will be coming down the pike?

Originally posted by WildBill:
Now that the main free agency signing and the draft along with UDFA signings are done. What do fans portend will be coming down the pike?

Please correct me if I am wrong, but these are the traits of a Morris defense that I have observed:

• Higher blitz rate than we have seen since Shanahan took over. He likes to send people from all over the field.
• He likes to play a 3-4, but has been pretty versatile in LA and Atlanta. He seems to play to the strengths of his roster.
• I believe he tends to play more Man than zone.

what is his record as a DC, how did his defenses rank?

Originally posted by Karma:
Please correct me if I am wrong, but these are the traits of a Morris defense that I have observed:

• Higher blitz rate than we have seen since Shanahan took over. He likes to send people from all over the field.

I don't remember the exact numbers, but yeah, Morris likes to blitz A LOT more than any previous 49ers' DC.

He likes to play a 3-4, but has been pretty versatile in LA and Atlanta. He seems to play to the strengths of his roster.

There will 100% be more odd fronts (ie penny fronts, tite fronts, etc). Expect edges playing out of 2-point stance.

I believe he tends to play more Man than zone.

Morris plays zone about 75% of the time. Expect to see a lot of cover 3 and cover 6. Don't expect much man coverage. ATL had the lowest rates of cover 1 in the league.

Overall, the defense is going to be more aggressive and more multiple than any previous iteration of 49ers' defense under Shanahan.

Originally posted by Heroism:

Originally posted by Karma:
Please correct me if I am wrong, but these are the traits of a Morris defense that I have observed:

• Higher blitz rate than we have seen since Shanahan took over. He likes to send people from all over the field.

I don't remember the exact numbers, but yeah, Morris likes to blitz A LOT more than any previous 49ers' DC.

He likes to play a 3-4, but has been pretty versatile in LA and Atlanta. He seems to play to the strengths of his roster.

There will 100% be more odd fronts (ie penny fronts, tite fronts, etc). Expect edges playing out of 2-point stance.

I believe he tends to play more Man than zone.

Morris plays zone about 75% of the time. Expect to see a lot of cover 3 and cover 6. Don't expect much man coverage. ATL had the lowest rates of cover 1 in the league.

Last year the falcons blitzed the second most in the league (https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2025/opp.htm). IT should be noted though previous year they didnt blitz as much were only top 20 so it does depend a bit on their roster i would think so hes pretty adaptive in philosophy based on team makeup

I think the we've determined and/or gambled on the pass rush fixing most of our problems. So thats the job of Morris. Play conservative football, but find a way to make splash plays. Bend but create plays. We'll blitz a little more, but just as importantly we will show blitz more, or bring 4 but by dropping a lineman. More disguise in the scheme. Emphasis on hiding cues for cover 1, 2 or 3.

Getting Bosa, Mykel are Warner back is obviously huge. But every other acquisition prioritizes the rush. Height is a total DPR. Osa is here to create pressure. Halton was picked for speed and disruption. We have alot of tweener ends that can play inside. Now tackles that can play outside. Height can drop to the flat. Alot of opportunities for variation in fronts. We have personnel to field a legit 3,4, or man 5 front. I think Morris will scheme more to what we have rather than I am a wide 9, 4-3, cover 3 guy. But the end goal is controlled havoc up front.

The wide 9 works well if you have four absolute studs upfront. Personally, looking forward to the change. The wide 9 is just so predictable, I think creating more confusion up front will only benefit our pass rush.

Originally posted by Oilcan:
The wide 9 works well if you have four absolute studs upfront. Personally, looking forward to the change. The wide 9 is just so predictable, I think creating more confusion up front will only benefit our pass rush.

Creating confusion goes both says, try that against a crafty experienced o-cord and you'll have guys blowing coverages and getting picked by their own guys

Originally posted by FaTaL:

Originally posted by Oilcan:
The wide 9 works well if you have four absolute studs upfront. Personally, looking forward to the change. The wide 9 is just so predictable, I think creating more confusion up front will only benefit our pass rush.

Creating confusion goes both says, try that against a crafty experienced o-cord and you'll have guys blowing coverages and getting picked by their own guys

I think the 49ers are somewhat mirroring the Seattle defends under Macdonald. That should help our offensive personnel aclimate to the Macdonald defense. I've always liked the John Harbaugh multi-front defense when Macdonald coached there. He brought that defense to Seattle. I think that scheme is much more sound than the Wide 9 defense. The Wide 9 is just too predictable and has built in secondary weaknesses that I simply just detest.

So excited to see what Morris can bring to this defense this year!

Originally posted by scooterhd:
I think the we've determined and/or gambled on the pass rush fixing most of our problems. So thats the job of Morris. Play conservative football, but find a way to make splash plays. Bend but create plays. We'll blitz a little more, but just as importantly we will show blitz more, or bring 4 but by dropping a lineman. More disguise in the scheme. Emphasis on hiding cues for cover 1, 2 or 3.

Getting Bosa, Mykel are Warner back is obviously huge. But every other acquisition prioritizes the rush. Height is a total DPR. Osa is here to create pressure. Halton was picked for speed and disruption. We have alot of tweener ends that can play inside. Now tackles that can play outside. Height can drop to the flat. Alot of opportunities for variation in fronts. We have personnel to field a legit 3,4, or man 5 front. I think Morris will scheme more to what we have rather than I am a wide 9, 4-3, cover 3 guy. But the end goal is controlled havoc up front.

100%