Raheem Morris' hire as 49ers defensive coordinator provides a reunion with Kyle Shanahan

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Kyle Shanahan wanted to bring Raheem Morris to San Francisco as an assistant when he was first hired as head coach of the 49ers in 2017 only to be blocked by the Atlanta Falcons.

Now the two longtime friends who worked together as assistants at three previous stops have been reunited with Shanahan having hired Morris this offseason as defensive coordinator to replace Robert Saleh.

“Kyle was someone that you love working with, love working for,” Morris said Thursday at his first news conference since being hired in February. "Kyle’s definitely one of those people you always want to work with. From our time being in, whether it was Tampa the original time we worked together, when we were both young puppies, or the second time we worked together when we were in D.C. and being able to be around his father, be around the Shanahan family, the tradition and the culture that they’re able to form really molded me throughout my career since I was around the Shanahans to be honest.”

Morris had a chance to join San Francisco in 2021 after his time in Atlanta ended the previous season but the Niners promoted DeMeco Ryans to defensive coordinator. Morris went to the Los Angeles Rams as defensive coordinator and helped them win the Super Bowl his first season before turning that into a head coaching job with the Falcons in 2024.

Morris was fired again after this past season by Atlanta and was Shanahan's No. 1 choice as coordinator after Saleh got the head coaching job in Tennessee and the reunion finally came together.

The relationship between Morris and Shanahan started in 2004 when Shanahan was hired as an assistant in Tampa Bay for his first NFL job where Morris was an assistant defensive backs coach on Jon Gruden's staff. They then worked together again in Washington on the staff of Kyle's father, Mike, and in Atlanta.

Morris' ties to the Niners are deeper than just Shanahan. When he first started in Tampa Bay in 2002 as a defensive quality control coach, one of the stars of that team was San Francisco general manager John Lynch.

“Raheem’s been the same guy I remember when I sat in the back of the DB room and Raheem was right behind me when he came down from Hofstra years ago,” Lynch said. “He’s a bundle of energy, he’s curious, he’s insightful. We always talk about there’s guys who drain a room and then there’s guys who give life to a room, he gives life to a room.”

One of Morris’ best traits is his versatility. He came up under the Tampa 2 system under coordinator Monte Kiffin with the Bucs. He adapted Brandon Staley’s system when he joined the Rams, switching to a three-man front, and then employed more five-man fronts during his time in Atlanta.

Now he joins a San Francisco team that has relied on four-man pass rushes during Shanahan’s tenure. Morris understands the strengths of the core that features star linebacker Fred Warner, defensive end Nick Bosa and a defensive line built to cater to line coach Kris Kocurek's attacking style.

But the Niners drafted an undersized pass rusher in Romello Height who resembles players such as Byron Young and Jalon Walker, who thrived under Morris at previous stops with the ability to rush or drop on coverage and can utilize more five-man fronts after dabbling with them last season.

“Whatever’s required, whatever’s needed to go do those things,” Morris said. "Those are the expectations and those are the things that we want to get done. So, to say it’s going to be more resemblant to me or more resemblant to them, it’s going to be what’s best for us in order to go win football games. I think that’s the best way to look at it, ultimately, whatever it takes to go win football games, whatever it takes to go out there and get it done for us.”

Morris will be San Francisco’s fifth defensive coordinator in as many seasons. Ryans left following the 2022 season to become head coach for Houston before Shanahan cycled through Steve Wilks and Nick Sorensen the next two seasons before firing both.

Saleh, who was Shanahan’s defensive coordinator in his first four seasons in San Francisco, returned in 2025 after a failed stint as head coach of the New York Jets and did a good job piecing together a capable defense despite having a unit hampered by injuries to players such as Bosa, Warner and Mykel Williams.

Now Morris is in the role with the task of getting the unit back to its dominant form it had in 2021-22 to help the Niners get over the hump and win the Super Bowl after so many close calls.

“Nothing would be more satisfying for me personally, than to be able to come here and help this organization, this head coach, this general manager, this owner, this team, the players that they have,” he said.

“When you talk about Fred Warner and Nick Bosa and guys that absolutely you want to go win that thing for. You get chills just fully thinking about it.”

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FILE - Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris talks to reporters after an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart,File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal court ruled Thursday against the new global tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed after a stinging loss at the Supreme Court.

A split three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade in New York found the 10% global tariffs were illegal after small businesses sued.

The court ruled 2-1 that Trump overstepped the tariff power that Congress had allowed the president under the law. The tariffs are “invalid″ and “unauthorized by law,” the majority wrote.

The third judge on the panel found the law allows the president more leeway on tariffs.

If the administration appeals Thursday’s decision, as expected, it would first turn to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, based in Washington, and then, potentially, the Supreme Court.

At issue are temporary 10% worldwide tariffs the Trump administration imposed after the Supreme Court in February struck down even broader double-digit tariffs the president had imposed last year on almost every country on Earth. The new tariffs, invoked under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, were set to expire July 24.

The court’s decision directly blocked the collection of tariffs from three plaintiffs — the state of Washington and two businesses, spice company Burlap & Barrel and toy company Basic Fun! “It’s not clear’’ whether other businesses would have to continue to pay the tariffs, said Jeffrey Schwab, director of litigation at the libertarian Liberty Justice Center, which represented the two companies.

“We fought back today and we won, and we’re extremely excited,” Jay Foreman, CEO of Basic Fun!, told reporters Thursday.

The ruling marked another legal setback for the Trump administration, which has attempted to shield the U.S. economy behind a wall of import taxes. Last year, Trump invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to declare the nation's longstanding trade deficit a national emergency, justifying sweeping global tariffs.

The Supreme Court ruled Feb. 28 that IEEPA did not authorize the tariffs. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to establish taxes, including tariffs, though lawmakers can delegate tariff power to the president.

Dave Townsend, a trade lawyer at Dorsey & Whitney, said the ruling will open the door for more companies to request that the tariffs be thrown out and that any payments they've made be refunded.

“Other importers likely will now ask for a broader remedy that applies to more companies,” Townsend said, though he cautioned the case could also reach the Supreme Court.

Trump is already taking steps to replace the tariffs that were struck down by the Supreme Court in January. The administration is conducting two investigations that could end in more tariffs.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is looking into whether 16 U.S. trading partners — including China, the European Union and Japan — are overproducing goods, driving down prices and putting U.S. manufacturers at a disadvantage. It is also investigating whether 60 economies — from Nigeria to Norway and accounting for 99% of U.S. imports — do enough to prohibit the trade in products created by forced labor.

President Donald Trump adjusts his microphone while speaking during an event for military mothers in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)