{"id":722381,"date":"2026-02-01T22:23:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T22:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/722381\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T22:23:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T22:23:19","slug":"49ers-hiring-raheem-morris-as-new-defensive-coordinator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/722381\/","title":{"rendered":"49ers hiring Raheem Morris as new defensive coordinator"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Raheem Morris is heading back to the NFC West.<\/p>\n<p>The 49ers are hiring the former Falcons head coach as their next defensive coordinator, according to multiple reports on Sunday. Morris, 49, will replace Robert Saleh, who left this offseason <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/01\/29\/sports\/robert-saleh-plans-dramatic-change-with-titans-after-jets-flop\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">to take the top job with the Titans<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The move to San Francisco marks Morris\u2019 second stint in the NFC West. He previously served as the defensive coordinator of the rival Rams for three seasons, including the team\u2019s Super Bowl triumph in February 2022.<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"38355637\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/atlanta-falcons-head-coach-raheem-118008206.jpg\" alt=\"The 49ers are turning to former Falcons coach Raheem Morris as their new defensive coordinator.\" class=\"wp-image-38355637\"  \/>The 49ers are turning to former Falcons coach Raheem Morris as their new defensive coordinator. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n<p>Morris left the Rams after the 2023 season to become Atlanta\u2019s next head coach. He previously led the Falcons on an interim basis after the firing of Dan Quinn in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>Despite beating out the likes of Bill Belichick for the top job, Morris went just 16-18 in his two seasons at the helm, with Atlanta missing the playoffs both times.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/01\/04\/sports\/falcons-fire-gm-terry-fontenot-coach-raheem-morris-hours-after-seasons-end\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Falcons brass fired<\/a> Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot on Jan. 4, hours after the team\u2019s final game of the season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have great personal affinity for both Raheem and Terry and appreciate their hard work and dedication to the Falcons, but I believe we need new leadership in these roles moving forward,\u201d Falcons owner Arthur Blank said in a statement. \u201cThe decision to move away from people who represent the organization so well and have a shared commitment to the values that are important to the organization is not an easy one, but the results on the field have not met our expectations or those of our fans and leadership. I wish Raheem and Terry the absolute best in their future pursuits.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"38355647\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/defensive-coordinator-robert-saleh-san-118223736.jpg\" alt=\"Robert Saleh, who served as the 49ers' defensive coordinator in 2025, is now head coach of the Titans.\" class=\"wp-image-38355647\"  \/>Robert Saleh, who served as the 49ers\u2019 defensive coordinator in 2025, is now head coach of the Titans. Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>Former Browns coach Kevin Stefanski has since taken the reins in Atlanta.<\/p>\n<p>Morris will now guide a 49ers defense that was plagued by injuries in 2025, with top playmakers Nick Bosa and Fred Warner missing time.<\/p>\n<p>Saleh, 47, was on his second stint with the 49ers after being fired by the Jets midway through the team\u2019s 2024 campaign. <\/p>\n<p>He was announced as head coach of the Titans last week, with former Giants coach Brian Daboll <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/01\/27\/sports\/brian-daboll-set-to-join-robert-salehs-titans-staff-as-oc\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">joining his staff as offensive coordinator<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Titans have not yet named a defensive coordinator.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Raheem Morris is heading back to the NFC West. The 49ers are hiring the former Falcons head coach&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":722382,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2074],"tags":[223,254,2554,224,7,6,2663,6043,252,9],"class_list":{"0":"post-722381","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-atlanta-falcons","8":"tag-atlanta","9":"tag-atlanta-falcons","10":"tag-atlantafalcons","11":"tag-falcons","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-raheem-morris","15":"tag-robert-saleh","16":"tag-san-francisco-49ers","17":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115997718715097219","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722381","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=722381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722381\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/722382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=722381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=722381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=722381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}