After last season, it's fairly safe to say Robert Saleh's encore with the San Francisco 49ers didn't go as planned. The team finished 12-5, but the coordinator's defense finished in the middle of the pack in points allowed per game and was in the bottom 10 in takeaways.
With Saleh becoming the head coach of the Tennessee Titans over the offseason, the 49ers filled the void by hiring Raheem Morris. It didn't take long for Saleh's former players to move on. As it turns out, the grass is indeed greener on the other side.
Safety Ji'Ayir Brown spoke candidly about his new DC, saying the scheme fits him and the other defensive backs nicely. But he didn't stop there.
"[Morris] wants football players. Previous schemes haven't been that - haven't wanted that... He wants instinctive players... So, the scheme fits all of us," Brown said in his presser after practice.
Raheem Morris is apparently everything Robert Saleh wasn't
In saying this, Brown is reveling in the freedom Morris has given him. By simplifying the Xs and Os, he is trusting his players to go out and make plays. But the safety went out of his way to emphasize how his former coordinators failed to instill the same values.
It's clear that Saleh is one of these former coaches. The 2025 49ers defensive unit ranked second-to-last in interceptions last year, and several defensive backs, including Ji'Ayir, either underperformed or plateaued.
Outside of Saleh's elite Super Bowl defense of 2019, his first stint with the team didn't fare much better. San Francisco allowed at least 23.9 points per game and were in the bottom half of the league in takeaways in three of his four seasons.
His head coaching job with the New York Jets didn't go much better. New York had the league's worst defense in his first year at the helm. While they gradually improved on that side of the ball, the offense suffered with a defensive-minded play caller leading the charge.
49ers have made it clear they will not miss Robert Saleh
Now enjoying their new defensive leader, the 49ers are anticipating a revamped defense with various key players returning from health. As the season looms, they are clearly not looking back.
If San Francisco's defense improves, it wouldn't be the first time that the franchise has benefited from Saleh's absence. The unit improved significantly in 2021 after his previous departure. Under DeMeco Ryans, they finished ninth in points allowed per game. In Ryan's second year, they were the NFL's best defense.
As Robert Saleh begins his second stint as a head coach, the 49ers are busy finding out what their defensive unit is capable of now that a more progressive-minded defensive coordinator has taken over. If Saleh repeats the mistakes he made during his time in the Bay Area, the Titans' defense could see little to no improvement early on.
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