49ers roster: 4 biggest questions about the defense in 2021

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Inside Linebackers Coach DeMeco Ryans of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images) /

The 49ers defense under DeMeco Ryans will look to emulate its success from 2019, but there are still some major questions yet to be answered.

A key reason why the San Francisco 49ers made it all the way to the Super Bowl in 2019 was because of a stellar defense, and one could even make the argument the injury-riddled 2020 version was primarily why head coach Kyle Shanahan’s squad even remained in playoff contention late in the season despite the eventual 6-10 finish.

Last year, in particular, the Niners owned the fifth-best defense, at least in terms of yards allowed, which shed light on just how much then-defensive coordinator Robert Saleh had matured since taking over that role in 2017.

But Saleh is gone now, and San Francisco is hoping to both continue the prowess under first-year coordinator DeMeco Ryans while also reverting back to a similar level of dominance it enjoyed two seasons ago.

Perhaps, but there are still some pressing questions and answers yet to be determined.

Here are the four biggest points of wonder heading towards 2021.

No. 4: Will 49ers experience growing pains under DeMeco Ryans?

Ryans inherits a relatively stacked defensive cast, which is a good thing, and the fact he carved out a 10-year pro career as a linebacker works in his favor, too. He’s experienced a number of different defensive schemes, and his own football smarts were a prime reason why Shanahan promoted in-house rather than scour the market for available coordinators.

That said, any first-year coordinator can go through struggles while he learns to adjust.

This wasn’t unfamiliar to Saleh, whose first two years with the organization were anything but successful, and the 49ers owned scoring defenses that were in the bottom third of the league in 2017 and 2018.

True, Saleh’s cast of defenders was nowhere close to what it is now, but even Saleh had to take time learning very specific adjustments, which ultimately earned him a role as the New York Jets‘ head coach.

It’s possible, perhaps even likely Ryans endures much of the same, experiencing some early gaffes and mistakes, which ultimately hold the Niners defense back to a point.

The key hope is Ryans adjusts quickly and also benefits from a better defensive roster, but that doesn’t cover up the fact he’ll have to learn on the fly.