Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris Press Conference

Defensive Coordinator Raheem Morris

Press Conference – September 17, 2026

San Francisco 49ers

Obviously, you had a lot of contributions from all parts of the ball, but how was LB Fred Warner kind of the ringleader from the first snap to the forced fumble in the fourth quarter?

“For me, it was fun just being out there with him. Coaching Fred and being around him, he’s a grown man that’s a lot of fun to be around. I’ve been fortunate, I talked about this before, to coach those kinds of people, but Fred is a different alien of himself. And he’s really fun, but to watch him go out there, lead his guys, go out there, get the calls out, get us lined up. Nothing’s going to be perfect ever, but to watch his leadership, his command. To be able to go to the sideline, communicate like a head coach, communicate like a position coach, communicate like our leader, like he is. It was phenomenal.”

What was your assessment of your group’s performance overall, both good and bad?

“You always have good. You always have bad. Hopefully you have more good than bad. You never can ride the emotional roller coaster that way. I think you got to stay even keel. I think you got to go through the process each and every week. We played a good game, played a good enough game to go out there and win. That was important. There’s always going to be things you got to clean up. There’s always going to be things you want to do better. But I’m really proud of how the group responded and how they went out and handled the adversity of the travel, handled the adversity of playing a very good football team that we played and going out there and getting a win.”

Are you okay? A little jet lag?

“Oh no, practice.”

What did you think of what DL Osa Odighizuwa was able to do in Week One, and how does that add to what you have up front?

“I was fired up about the guys, and the intent of the game is you always got to go try to get after [Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew] Stafford and hit him. We got a chance to get around him to cause the ball to come out faster than probably he wants to, or make it feel a little bit uncomfortable, which is important. Obviously Osa, I think, had four or something like that and was able to get there that way. I think that’s always going to be huge. We talked about the acquisition of him coming this offseason, being able to give us a force inside, particularly with the run, with the pass, doing all different things that he does, the leadership skills that he possesses. It was a great start for him. It was a great start for that guy and the leadership of the unit and getting those guys out there at the same time. I can’t say enough about all the guys that were able to contribute, but he definitely is a big part of that.”

What part of LB Jaden Dugger’s game are you most proud of in his transition from OTAs until now?

“I really just like the steady improvement. We went from watching him grow into kind of this hybrid athlete, the kind of guy that we kind of envisioned in that spinner role, doing some of those different things. He was able to come out there and do a little bit of those things. You see him stand up, see him on the line of scrimmage, see him back up, see him do a bunch of different things, be able to contribute on special teams. Then to watch him be around Fred and [LB Dre] Greenlaw and really that whole room, including the coaches, they just developed his toughness and that certain creed that they have in their room to get him better and better every single week. So, he had a nice start and hopefully he can improve on it.”

Have you seen a rookie stay through their first offseason like he did?

“It’s kind of rare around here, but it goes back to the first guy we talked about in that first question. People want to be around him. People want to train with him. People want to learn from him. He’s got a lot to give, and he’s willing to give it to his teammates and coaches included. It’s been fun to be around.”

What kind of challenges does [Miami Dolphins RB De’Von] Achane represent?

“Tough, fast. He gets mistaken that he’s an outside runner, but he lowers his pads, he runs for the extra yards, he does the special things that we talk about in running where he makes five [yards], eight and he makes eight, ten. Then, if you’re not careful, he can make a really explosive run or catch. Presents a lot of challenges for us.”

DL Khalid Kareem went from New York to Atlanta, then flew here, then flew to Australia and he got in the game. How impressed were you by his quick turnaround?

“It was impressive. When we called him, had to get him. Obviously, [DL] Sam O [Okuayinonu] went down right before we took that flight. We were able to make some calls and get some stuff done, some stuff moving pretty quickly. A lot of credit to our front office and all the people that work up there. [Player personnel coordinator Jessi Seumalo] Jess and all the people that were able to get those things moving. You have to get a passport, you have to get him back to Atlanta, back to San Fran, excuse me, the Bay, to take his physical. Then he’s on his way to Australia and the next time we saw him, he was in a meeting fighting the urge to fall asleep, and then going out and practicing and being able to go through that and being able to play for us. Luckily he has some familiarity with the scheme and some of the things that we wanted to do. We were able to acclimate him pretty quickly. A lot of credit to [assistant defensive line coach] Greg Scruggs, a lot of credit to [defensive quality control coach] Cam [Brown] and those guys that really caught him up to speed really quick.”

For years, offenses were spending more and more time in the shotgun, but Week One, it seemed like offenses couldn’t spend enough time under center. From a defensive perspective, why do you feel like offenses are making that adjustment?

“Grant, you got way too much time on your hands. I just watched the team we played [laughs]. I’m not sure. Obviously, Stafford, we played them and he’s been an up-under quarterback for a long time and he’s very good at it. So, I kind of anticipated hat and having that, but I really think kind of the league just goes in circles. It goes into the patterns and defense and the offense and the way West Coast offense, up under, things of that nature. Pistol from a little bit from college, gun, just waves.”

LB Garret Wallow took a handful of snaps at middle linebacker on Thursday. Is that part of the Dre Greenlaw load management because you’re still easing him back into the swing of things?

“I wouldn’t call it load management. I would call it our ability to utilize all the players that we have on our football team. Greenlaw is special. When he was out there, he was doing some really good things. Obviously, we’ve managed him throughout the course of practice. You don’t want to manage a guy within a game, and how do you do that? You allow him to play full speed every time he’s out there and when he gets to get a break, he gets a break. Fortunately, we were able to utilize some dime to do that. We utilized Wallow, who’s a very good football player. We were able to get Fred some reps off there at the end, which was nice. But I think you want to be able to take care of your football team so you can go for the long run. And we want to do it for a long time.”

When you think about the plays that are being made in the secondary in Week One, what did you like about their play? Where do you expect to see them take a step in Week Two?

“It’s not that. I think it’s just being able to take it from the classroom to the field. To the practice field, first and foremost. Being able to do those things and then execute the game plan. And the guys execute the game plan at a very high level. Again, it’s never going to be perfect. There’s not a defensive back game I’ve coached that was perfect, but I love the effort. I love the intensity. I love the style of play. That’s most important, first and foremost, and I’ll start there. In order to increase that every single week, it has to go through the same process and you have to trust your process and go through that every single week. The guys have done a nice job of it thus far and we got to continue.”

Along those lines with CB Renardo Green, you’ve been open about how excited you were to work with him and the progress that he made. What does it mean for him after some of the bumps he had toward the end of last year to make a big play like he did the other day?

“I always get stumped with that question because I wasn’t here. I know you guys thought I was lying, but I’m like, ‘The guys look great.’ And he takes coaching and he’s been able to go out there and play. I’m fired up about him. I’m fired up about working with all of those guys. They’ve all shown really good things. [CB] Jack Jones, [DB Deommodore Lenoir] DMo, Renardo, [CB Upton] Stout were the guys that played most of the time at corner, but I’m really fired up to watch those guys go out there and play every single day.”

Some coordinators go left and right with the corners. You played boundary and field with your guys. Why is that? Is that because of Green’s speed, or why do you play your corners that way?

“No, we just kind of, you get used to pictures. If you can give a guy pictures and give him some reps at it to allow those guys to see those pictures over and over again and kind of get used to some of the advantages that they have from seeing those pictures, I think it’s helpful. Sometimes you’re going to match. Sometimes you’re going to play right and left. There are going to be times where tempo teams come and that’s how it happens, but if you have the ability to do some of those different things to mix it up for those guys, to give those same pictures, it’s the reason you practice, right? Repetition is the mother of learning and you get the same repetition over and over and over again. But having the ability to do the other things, I think it just creates the understanding. It breeds understanding throughout the room in order to do those things. So, I love that challenge. I love the challenge for those guys to be able to go out there. I was fired up how they played.”

Week One was a very heavily hyped game against a Super Bowl favorite. The Dolphins are not that. Between the travel and coming back and the opponent, as a coach, do you worry or have to discuss at all the possibility of a letdown?

“Yeah, I mean, it’s the National Football League. You better come ready every single week, or there’s a piece of humble pie waiting around the corner for you. Our head coach preaches that. It’s our building. It’s the mentality. To say you don’t worry about it, I’d be lying, but we’re definitely going to teach that message.”