{"id":716305,"date":"2026-01-30T10:47:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T10:47:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/716305\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T10:47:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T10:47:16","slug":"49ers-news-raheem-morris-also-an-intriguing-option-for-the-49ers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/716305\/","title":{"rendered":"49ers News: Raheem Morris, also an intriguing option for the 49ers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: 49ers interview three candidates for defensive coordinator position<\/a>
\u201cMorris previously worked with Shanahan in Washington and Atlanta. He was fired this year after two seasons as Atlanta Falcons head coach. He also has been head coach in Tampa Bay, and defensive coordinator with Atlanta and the Los Angeles Rams.<\/p>\n

[Joe] Woods was on the 49ers\u2019 staff in 2019 as defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator after being Denver\u2019s defensive coordinator for two seasons. Woods went on to defensive coordinator positions with Cleveland and New Orleans before spending last season as the Raiders\u2019 passing game coordinator\/defensive backs coach.\u201c<\/p>\n

Did the 49ers move on from a longtime defensive coach?<\/a>
\u201cDefensive backs coach and defensive passing game specialist Daniel Bullocks, who has been with the organization since Kyle Shanahan took over as head coach in 2017, no longer appears on the team\u2019s official coaching staff page.<\/p>\n

Bullocks has served in his current role since 2019, working closely with the 49ers\u2019 secondary. His apparent departure was first noted by Dieter Kurtenbach of the Bay Area News Group and KNBR, who pointed out Bullocks\u2019 absence from the team website.<\/p>\n

Kurtenbach also noted that the 49ers recently requested permission to interview Atlanta Falcons secondary coach Justin Hood, a request that was ultimately denied. At the time, it was unclear what role San Francisco was targeting. NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero described the opening only as a \u201chigh-ranking staff position,\u201d leaving room for speculation.<\/p>\n

One possibility is that the 49ers were exploring a potential replacement for Bullocks. San Francisco already has Ray Brown on staff as its cornerbacks coach, and he just completed his first season with the team, which could signal a restructuring of the defensive coaching roles.\u201c<\/p>\n

49ers target interior D-line help in 2026 NFL mock draft<\/a>
\u201cAaron believes [Ohio State DT Kayden] McDonald would represent a notable upgrade. He earned an 86.5 overall defensive grade from PFF during his final season at Ohio State, including an elite 91.2 run-defense grade. That profile aligns with the 49ers\u2019 recent emphasis on strengthening the defensive trenches and improving the run defense.<\/p>\n

In 14 games last season, McDonald recorded 65 total tackles, nine tackles for loss, three sacks, one pass breakup, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cMcDonald consistently held his ground against double teams at Ohio State, showing his ability to plug rushing lanes,\u201d Aaron added. \u201cHis leverage and interior disruption should allow him to contribute immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n

49ers bolster pass rush in PFF\u2019s latest 2026 NFL mock draft<\/a>
\u201c\u201cSan Francisco\u2019s injury-ravaged defensive line needs reinforcements, even with the eventual return of its stars,\u201d Wasserman wrote. \u201cMiami\u2019s Akheem Mesidor is an older prospect, but he delivered an excellent final college season that helped the Hurricanes make a deep run in the College Football Playoff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mesidor posted 12.5 sacks last season, along with 63 tackles (17.5 for a loss) and four forced fumbles. He wrapped up his collegiate career with 208 tackles, 52.5 tackles for loss, 35.5 sacks, four passes defensed, and five forced fumbles across 65 games.<\/p>\n

He will be 25 years old at the start of the 2026 NFL season. By comparison, Williams\u2014the 49ers\u2019 first-round pick in 2025\u2014will be 22 entering his second NFL season.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis 92.5 PFF grade tied for fourth among qualified FBS edge defenders, one spot behind fellow Hurricane Rueben Bain Jr,\u201d Wasserman added.\u201c<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Source: 49ers interview three candidates for defensive coordinator position\u201cMorris previously worked with Shanahan in Washington and Atlanta. He…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":697545,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2080],"tags":[220,52307,7,6,1161,252,1137,2624,2623],"class_list":{"0":"post-716305","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco-49ers","8":"tag-49ers","9":"tag-49ers-links","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-nfl","12":"tag-san-francisco","13":"tag-san-francisco-49ers","14":"tag-san-francisco-49ers-news","15":"tag-sanfrancisco","16":"tag-sanfrancisco49ers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115983657092963271","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=716305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/697545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=716305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=716305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=716305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}