The San Francisco 49ers have proven that they can beat you in many, many different ways, but the go-to has been the defense, the defensive line in particular. This was a defense that began as league-historically bad before defensive coordinator Robert Saleh arrived. Once he was in the driver’s seat, his defense improved, but still had difficulty closing games for two years. Three years in, it puts games away early. Turns out, it might not be the DC, but the D-line coach that gets some credit.
NFL reporter Benjamin Allbright said on Saturday that the defense’s success is less on Saleh and more on defensive line coach Kris Kocurek.