Scape goat
The San Francisco 49ers and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks have agreed to part ways, coach Kyle Shanahan announced.
“It just ended up not being the right fit,” Shanahan said. “It was harder than it needed to be.”
The news comes a day after Shanahan was noncommittal about Wilks returning next season. When asked if Wilks would be back for the 2024 season, Shanahan initially said: “That’s stuff that we’ll talk about a ton as this week goes (on).”
Shanahan did say Tuesday that he was pleased with San Francisco’s defense’s performance this season.
“I thought they’re one of the reasons that we got this far,” he said. “I thought they did a number of good things. They did a lot of good things in (Sunday’s) game, too, just like our whole team. Our team did a bunch of good things this year but came up short in the last game.”
San Francisco allowed the third-fewest points per game this season (17.5), which ended with a 25-22 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl on Sunday.
The 49ers hired Wilks ahead of the 2023 season after DeMeco Ryans left to coach the Houston Texans. Wilks came to San Francisco after finishing the 2022 NFL season as the interim coach of the Carolina Panthers.
At midseason, after the 49ers had given up big passing performances to quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Joe Burrow, Shanahan forced Wilks to move from the booth to the field during games. San Francisco’s defense improved around then with a return back to some of its previous basics, but the stretch run of the season saw another regression. The 49ers allowed 148 rushing yards in the first half of the NFC title game against the Detroit Lions, an ugly performance that preceded Shanahan’s frustrations with Wilks’ soft coverage concepts in the Super Bowl.
Simply put, the 49ers didn’t accept their defense’s backslide under Wilks. — David Lombardi, 49ers staff writer
However, that proved to be a clumsy process, as evidenced by the 49ers’ big regression in run defense.
Shanahan’s father, Mike Shanahan, had joined the 49ers as offensive coordinator in 1992 under similar parameters as Wilks. But it turns out that the 49ers offense back then, helmed by quarterback Steve Young, was better prepared to accept an outside coaching hire. The 49ers defense this past season ended up being in a different boat. — Lombardi
The San Francisco 49ers and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks have agreed to part ways, coach Kyle Shanahan announced.
“It just ended up not being the right fit,” Shanahan said. “It was harder than it needed to be.”
The news comes a day after Shanahan was noncommittal about Wilks returning next season. When asked if Wilks would be back for the 2024 season, Shanahan initially said: “That’s stuff that we’ll talk about a ton as this week goes (on).”
Shanahan did say Tuesday that he was pleased with San Francisco’s defense’s performance this season.
“I thought they’re one of the reasons that we got this far,” he said. “I thought they did a number of good things. They did a lot of good things in (Sunday’s) game, too, just like our whole team. Our team did a bunch of good things this year but came up short in the last game.”
San Francisco allowed the third-fewest points per game this season (17.5), which ended with a 25-22 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl on Sunday.
The 49ers hired Wilks ahead of the 2023 season after DeMeco Ryans left to coach the Houston Texans. Wilks came to San Francisco after finishing the 2022 NFL season as the interim coach of the Carolina Panthers.
49ers didn’t accept defensive backslide under Wilks
The 49ers simply regressed too much defensively under Wilks. They’d ranked No. 1 EPA per play in 2022 under Ryans before dropping to No. 12 this season. Their run defense took the most severe tumble, from No. 2 to No. 26. This wasn’t acceptable to Shanahan, especially since the 49ers maintained most of their key personnel between seasons and even added star defensive tackle Javon Hargrave.At midseason, after the 49ers had given up big passing performances to quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Joe Burrow, Shanahan forced Wilks to move from the booth to the field during games. San Francisco’s defense improved around then with a return back to some of its previous basics, but the stretch run of the season saw another regression. The 49ers allowed 148 rushing yards in the first half of the NFC title game against the Detroit Lions, an ugly performance that preceded Shanahan’s frustrations with Wilks’ soft coverage concepts in the Super Bowl.
Simply put, the 49ers didn’t accept their defense’s backslide under Wilks. — David Lombardi, 49ers staff writer
Why didn’t things work with Wilks?
Shanahan might’ve been overly ambitious in hiring Wilks, his first higher-profile outside-of-family hire for the 49ers coaching staff. Shanahan believed that his team’s defense was talented enough — and the program’s structure strong enough — to effectively integrate Wilks’ DB coaching expertise.However, that proved to be a clumsy process, as evidenced by the 49ers’ big regression in run defense.
Shanahan’s father, Mike Shanahan, had joined the 49ers as offensive coordinator in 1992 under similar parameters as Wilks. But it turns out that the 49ers offense back then, helmed by quarterback Steve Young, was better prepared to accept an outside coaching hire. The 49ers defense this past season ended up being in a different boat. — Lombardi
