The 49ers' defense has not been nearly as dominant in 2024 as it has been in the past, but coach Kyle Shanahan does not believe that the drop-off has been a result of defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen's scheme.
The defensive line, which has been missing Nick Bosa for the past two games, and Javon Hargrave since Week 4, allowed a season-high 220 rushing yards in their 35-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on "Sunday Night Football" in Week 13.
Shanahan spoke to the media on Monday via conference call and shared that he still has the utmost confidence in Sorenson.
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“Yeah, I'm very satisfied with Nick,” Shanahan said. “I’m not at all satisfied with the results and how it's going right now, but, some of the mistakes that we've made, I don't think or what's happened here in these last two weeks, I don't think that's a schematic issue.”
The responsibility for the defense’s sub-par performance does not fall solely on Sorensen's shoulders, who has been with the team since 2022. Shanahan owns the lack of production across all three phases of the game and understands the 49ers' 5-7 record is disappointing.
“It's a little bit more of a fundamental issue, and that also starts with me,” Shanahan said. “That goes to all coaching, and it goes down to the players, it goes to everyone in this building. But the results here these last two weeks haven't changed my opinion on Nick.”
The 49ers' defense has dealt with several injuries on top of Bosa and Hargrave, including Talanoa Hufanga, Dre Greenlaw, Kevin Givens and Drake Jackson to name a few. Charvarius Ward, Deommodore Lenoir, George Odum, Yetur Gross-Matos, Jordan Elliott and Kalia Davis also have missed games.
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Without the team's star players on the field, there is a clear lack of consistency, which is contributing to their under-whelming performance. Still, the responsibility for the team's performance on the field ultimately rests on the Shanahan's shoulders, and the head coach is acutely aware of his team's shortcomings compared to the past.
“Last year's team was obviously a better team,” Shanahan said. “I'm not saying just from the roster, I'm just saying from the beginning to end, the way we started out, the way we felt in training camp, throughout the whole year.
“We've been trying to build that with this team. We've had times where we felt that we were on the right path to it and then we've had some setbacks that I think it's always been one step forward, two steps back. We really haven't grasped the full potential of this year's team. That's why I don't like comparing it to last year's team or the year before.”
Shanahan and his staff have five more games to get back on the right path and finish the season strong. That starts on Sunday when the 49ers welcome the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium.
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