49ers fire DC Steve Wilks just a day after HC Kyle Shanahan expressed confidence in all coaches returning post-Super Bowl defeat to Chiefs

Steve Wilks served as the team's defensive coordinator for just one year.

49ers fire DC Steve Wilks just a day after HC Kyle Shanahan expressed confidence in all coaches returning post-Super Bowl defeat to Chiefs

Steve Wilks (via NFL)

The San Francisco 49ers are wasting no time in improving themselves just days after their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII. Less than a week after head coach Kyle Shanahan expressed faith in retaining his coaching staff and having them return next season, the team has fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks as per Adam Schefter of ESPN. Wilks was let go after the 22-25 overtime loss of the 49ers to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl on Sunday.

It is clear that Kyle Shanahan had a part to play in this, he conveyed the same via a conference call stating:

This morning I relieved Steve Wilks of his duties.
Kyle Shanahan said
YouTube video

He attempted to defend Wilks by dubbing the decision to be “a really tough” one that “says nothing about Steve as a man or as a football coach.” This is shocking when one takes into account the fact that the 49ers thrived defensively, the team dominated its opponents. In the first half of the game, they were able to restrict the Chiefs to just one field goal, the team had locked Travis Kelce as well. However, the defense was not able to keep that same energy in the second half.

FS Video

Kyle Shanahan is aiming for a fresh approach defensively. A new coordinator would do just that. Here is what he had to say about the same:

Where we're going and where we're at with our team from a scheme standpoint and things like that, looking through it all throughout the year to these last few days, I felt pretty strongly that this was a decision that was best for the organization.
Kyle Shanahan added

This was Wilks’ first and last year as the defensive coordinator for the 49ers.

Steve Wilks’ defensive strategies failed to restrict the Kansas City Chiefs from scoring in OT

The San Francisco 49ers have elite players on defense, it is a boon for a defensive coach to lead a roster filled with so much talent. But the job is not easy, since the expectations are equally high. Steve Wilks adopted a different strategy, one that differed from the approach adopted by his predecessors DeMeco Ryans and Robert Saleh.

Steve Wilks
Steve Wilks (via Bleacher Report)

The next person who takes up this responsibility will need to live up to the standard. At this moment, it is Super Bowl or bust for the San Francisco 49ers. The team has failed to close the deal in both of its appearances since 2020. In all honesty, the team’s defense was not the problem, it did not help that they were going against Patrick Mahomes, who is an entirely different animal in the Super Bowl.

The 49ers did create a stir when the team’s players admitted to not knowing about the new overtime rules. It is not clear if the defense was oblivious to the rule change or not. Despite having one of the more historic runs in 2023-24, the San Francisco 49ers faced a bitter end in the Super Bowl. A new DC could go a long way in helping the team achieve its ultimate goal of winning a championship.

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