Originally posted by evil:
Originally posted by NCommand:
Originally posted by evil:
Originally posted by NCommand:
Originally posted by evil:
What is to say Saleh didn't want a better teacher on the back end so he use more diversified coverages and better disguise those coverages ? We do know we struggled mightily the first 2 years with communication on the back end of the D under Hafley.
Not saying it is the case but to dismiss that this was Saleh's call is a large assumption. It comes across like you think Saleh's ability is strictly in a C3 tunnel. Seattle may run a cover 3 but Pete does diversify, including using cover 2 which he credits to learning from Monte Kiffin. So Saleh certainly learned a lot more than C3 under Pete.
Strong praise from Sherm (from October of this year) and he doesn't need to go so far as to call Saleh a genius when praising him. Just like Kyle has never wavered on moving on from Saleh after year one and two. Maybe just maybe Saleh is a little better than a lot of guys here truly believe. 
LOL. Given Saleh didn't even seem to really know much about them or their specific roles upon hire, that might be a hint. He actually thought W9 would be a wrinkle.
IMHO, I think both were brought in by Kyle to help Saleh expand upon the foundation of C3 given how the holes were exposed last year. Smart.
And to Saleh's credit, he ran with it and it's worked very well.
Are you sure?
What does hire of new defensive line coach mean for 49ers?
A week ago the Raiders hired Kris Kocurek as defensive line coach to replace Jeff Zgonina. Kocurek coached the Dolphins' defensive linemen in 2018.
Asked whether the move signifies a philosophical change for the defensive line, Saleh deflected.
"Like Kyle (Shanahan) said, there was no plan to make any changes on the staff and then Kris became available," Saleh said. "He's very well thought of. It really wasn't a knock on Z. I think Z did a really, really nice job but just an opportunity to get a guy who was very experienced but yeah, it was just one of those things."
"Philosophically, there's not gonna be a drastic change. It's just a guy who is very well thought of. Z did a tremendous job the last two years, what he took over. The room that he took over two years ago was not very good, both character wise and technically. So much appreciated for what he's done in the last two years. You guys know it's pretty hard to always let people go, so much appreciated for Z and what he's been able to do."
Saleh got to know Kocurek throughout the years "just talking ball" since they crossed over in coaching circles. Kocurek spent his first nine NFL seasons coaching on the Lions' defensive staff, and Saleh said Kocurek had a place three blocks from his parents' house in Detroit.
How does Saleh feel about the Joe Woods hire?
After defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley took the co-defensive coordinator job at Ohio State, the 49ers hired Joe Woods, who served as the Broncos' defensive coordinator in 2017 and 2018.
In 2017, the Broncos finished tied for 22nd in the NFL with 23.9 points allowed per game. In 2018, Denver finished 13th with 21.8 yards allowed per game. And after Broncos head coach Vance Joseph lost his job, so too did Woods.
Woods assumes the title of defensive backs coach/passing game coordinator with the 49ers, who set an NFL record for fewest interceptions in a season in 2018 with only two.
"Really, really excited to have Joe. I don't know if people realize that Joe is actually a disciple of the whole cover 2 tree. Came highly recommended from Monte (Kiffin) and Gus Bradley, who I think the world of obviously. They're my mentors. He is a believer in fundamentals, technique over scheme. That's something that Hafley did a great job of and we wanted to make sure we had great continuity in that regard.
"He comes from our school of thinking with regards to our system and it's gonna be seamless with the way he teaches and the things that he believes in … I'm really excited with what we're doing. I think it's gonna be a really cool working dynamic."
Yes, I'm sure...with this comment alone. I consulted an actual player who played within Kocurek's W9 and he said outright, it would be a full time schematic change...not the little wrinkle Saleh thought. In fact, it's pretty opposite to the scheme Saleh was versed in with Big Ends and 5T and S-NICKEL too. And that's certainly held true all season. Saleh runs a C3.
So you think Saleh brought in Kocurek and Woods on his own?
Not on his own, I think it came from a post season sit down with Kyle about how to improve the defense.
Saleh was versed in C3 in Seattle and Jacksonville but also in other fronts and coverages during his career as a coach and on those stops. Gus Bradley coached under Monte Kiffin like Carroll did, and Monte was a Tampa 2 and Cover 2 guy who also did some Cover 3 stuff and that was used in Seattle and Jacksonville.
Saleh also coached under Frank Bush and Richard Smith who ran more traditional 4-3 but with some Cover 2 as well. I don't think Saleh should be exclusively pigeon holed as only being versed in Cover 3.
When and where did Saleh say it would only be a wrinkle? 
To the bold, same here. And to his credit, he made the most of it and ran with it. I think he wasn't sure how to philisophically make it work right away though. It probably didn't go down like, "OK, we're going to target X, Y and Z...to accomplish A, B and C."
I think Kocurek and Woods happen to be out there and they brought them in and figured they'd figure it out as they go.
There was a podium interview and he was saying the W9 was a wrinkle they already used so it wasn't a big deal and he didn't anticipate anything different. He didn't seem to realize it was a full philosophical switch to 100% of the time and the C2 also became far more regular as well off his C3. He was literally just starting year 3...hard to expand at that point in your career/installation esp. philisophically.
I give him credit for being open to mold his own philosophy with theirs. I give Kyle credit for expanding the defense and believing Saleh could make it work.
Like a physician, if you're trained within a certain medical model, that's how you see the world; through that model going forward. That's why there's always been a disconnect with holistic diagnosis in Western Medicine...see symptom A, prescribe treatment B.
Saleh did it.
[ Edited by NCommand on Jan 14, 2020 at 5:08 PM ]
I ain't mad
