San Francisco 49ers links for Friday May 31, 2019
There has been some grumbling going on by a small but growing group of fans that question whether Robert Saleh should be our defensive coordinator. While no one is denying he has made some mistakes along the way and has been out coached at times, he has been kind of up against a brick wall in that we have an offensive minded head coach with a whole lot of control that is good at bringing in players to fit his offense but neither he or Lynch can even come close to matching Pete Carroll’s ability to find the right pieces to fit a Seattle style defense.
Having a green defensive coordinator without the right players to fit his defense and without surrounding him with defensive position coaches that can contribute to his development was basically a recipe for failure. Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch picked Robert Saleh because they thought he had the mind to be a very good defensive coordinator and Kyle wanted to implement a Seattle style defense. Then they failed to provide him the edge rushers needed to have a decent pass rush and gave him Malcolm Smith and Reuben Foster to play linebacker. We won’t even get started with the defensive secondary.
They could have tossed Saleh under the bus and blamed the failures on defense last year on him but they didn’t. They chose to bring in Joe Woods and Chris Kocurek instead. From what I can tell from media reports during the OTAs, those two have been given the green light to come up with a cohesive plan that would best utilize our talent. Hopefully they are making changes that will transform our defense from a Seattle style clone wannabe to something that better fits our talent. I am sure Saleh was a big part of most of those meetings doing just what a coordinator is suppose to do, coordinate. Hopefully he was able to use it as a great learning experience. I know I would have personally felt like a kid in a candy store.
We could have fired Saleh and he could have become a position coach elsewhere and eventually worked his way back up to become a good defensive coordinator elsewhere or we could have given him the tools and opportunity to grow right where he is. I am pretty sure the 49ers made the right decision but I guess we will see how it plays out one way or the other.
Now onto those sizzling hot links:
What we heard from 49ers defensive coaches Kris Kocurek, Joe Woods Cam Inman
D-line led by coach Kris Kocurek’s incredible intensity Jennifer Lee Chan
Coleman explains how Kyle Shanahan has improved as play-caller Matt Maiocco
For safety’s sake, 49ers are adjusting their secondary Eric Branch
49ers Tarvarius Moore ‘back home’ at safety after rookie year at corner Matt Maiocco
Even in Year 9, Richard Sherman Still Striving for Perfection Joe Fann
49ers Announce 2019 Bill Walsh NFL Diversity Coaching Fellows 49ers Staff
49ers rookie Nick Bosa getting mental reps after being sidelined David Bonilla
49ers will hold State of the Franchise on June 5, announce event details David Bonilla
Tevin Coleman expects 49ers running backs to do big things David Bonilla
NFL should pull the plug on Hard Knocks Mike Florio
Jimmy Garoppolo gets a boost from newcomers at RB, WR Vinnie Iyer
Colbert embracing competition, trying to return to the fundamentals David Bonilla
The NFL’s most improved pass-rushing defenses in 2019 Michael Renner
Why NFL players should start saving now for potential 2021 lockout Geoff Schwartz
The NFL current wide receiver corps power ranking by team Christian D’Andrea
World’s longest titles
49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo says Kyle Shanahan is a mastermind at breaking down the game David Bonilla
Jimmy Garoppolo happy about his path to becoming the 49ers’ starting quarterback David Bonilla
Austin Hooper on his time with 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan: “This guy is Nostradamus. This guy is a fortune teller.” David Bonilla
Joe Woods was fond of the 49ers’ DBs before joining the team, says Richard Sherman won’t stop texting him David Bonilla
Kyle Shanahan, 49ers Announce 2019 Bill Walsh NFL Diversity Coaching Fellows Site Staff
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