Kyle Shanahan Explains Why Raheem Morris Was the Right Hire for 49ers

Past relationships a key theme in Kyle Shanahan's culture.

Oct 19, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan (left) shakes hands with Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris (right) after the game at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Raheem Morris marks the fifth different defensive coordinator of the Kyle Shanahan era for the San Francisco 49ers.

DeMeco Ryans, Steve Wilks, Nick Sorensen and Robert Saleh (across two stints) are the other four defensive coordinators, with Morris making it five different coordinators in as many seasons.

It's not a poisoned chalice by any means, but the constant turnover suggests a lack of continuity. It's unknown how long Morris will hold the fort in the role, but establishing some stability at such a highly esteemed position should be the 49ers' hope.

When discussing why Shanahan wanted to bring Morris to San Francisco, their longstanding relationship matters. The two have worked together at various organizations across two decades.

"I mean, you’ve always got to take a risk when you hire people you haven’t worked with or people you haven’t gone against much," Shanahan told reporters.

"You kind of have an idea, but you really never know someone until you go through stuff with them. I knew Raheem as a quality control for the two years I worked in Tampa and was with him, I think, two of the four years in Washington and then both of the years in Atlanta.

"So, I always knew how good of a coach he was. He started in Tampa, too. Ran real similar to what we did in Atlanta. Then when he took over for the Rams and I had to go against him, it was a completely different defense, which is really tough to go against.

Jan 4, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris on the sideline during the game against the New Orleans Saints during the second half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"The first thing I wanted to hire was the person. I do love that he has experience in a lot of different schemes, but it wasn’t that I wanted to just change everything. I do think you have to evolve. I think you look at us last year with Saleh, we evolved a lot and did some things that he had done for the first time that he hadn’t done or we hadn’t done in the previous eight years. Raheem has experience with all of it.

"I do think in this league with the way people know how to attack schemes and stuff, you don’t always have better players than the people you’re going against. When that does happen, you’ve got to change schemes up.

"We want the option to do both. Raheem has that experience. I don’t look at it as we’re going to be totally different, but I love that we have the ability to be different.”

And hopefully, Morris remains as defensive coordinator for the years to come. But head coaching jobs will likely come knocking.