Brandon Staley Explains How the 49ers Defense Could Evolve

Last season, the 49ers had one of the most vanilla defenses in the NFL.

Nov 12, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley gestures during the first half against the Detroit Lions at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports / Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

SANTA CLARA -- Last season, the 49ers had one of the most vanilla defenses in the NFL.

Whatever coverage they showed pre-snap, that's why they played post-snap. And their pressure schemes were completely devoid of creativity.

That's why the 49ers hired Brandon Staley. They want him to modernize their defense, which is stuck in the past. Which means he'll bring disguised coverages and simulated four-man pressures to the 49ers this year.

Here's what Staley said this week about the potential changes the 49ers will make to their defense.

Q: What are the challenges of trying to install post-snap coverage rotations or exotic blitzes?

STALEY: "You have to have enough flexibility within your defense to take advantage of your players, but then you're always trying to make it tough on the offense post-snap. The best players in the league, the best coaches in the league, pre-snap if they know exactly what's happening, then you're multiplying their chances of being successful. You've got to make them operate post-snap. It's such a scheme world now where every play is on a can so that they can call plays against ideal looks. You're trying to present different looks. If you're going to do that, if you're going to play different stuff, whether it's front, coverage, pressure -- you've got to make sure it's tied together. And the only way that's going to happen is if as a unit you have command over it."

ME: The identity of this defense for a long time has been a straightforward four-man pass rush. Your background is much more exotic and diverse. Do you think that's something that could benefit this defense?

STALEY: "This group is known for its four-man pass rush, but it has a lot of guys who can rush and I think that's the key of really good rush groups. You have the threat of a lot of people rushing the passer, which is what we have here and that's why they've rushed the passer at such a high level since long before I got here. We have a good group of front guys, and that's what you want to be able to do in this league regardless of what you play, what system you run, what coverages you play, if you can rush the passer with four guys then you're feeling pretty good about your chances. And when you rush more than that, you're doing it because you want to, not because you have to."