Why Was Steve Wilks Fired By The 49ers?

February 18, 2024

Why did the San Francisco 49ers fire head coach Steve Wilks? Read the latest about Wilks and 49ers' defensive coordinator vacancy.

The San Francisco 49ers fired their defensive coordinator, Steve Wilks, after a 25-22 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl. Wilks spent just one season with the 49ers and is now on his way out of San Francisco.

The 49ers' defense failed to stop the Chiefs' offense in both the fourth quarter and overtime in the Super Bowl, and as a result, Kyle Shanahan opted to part ways with his defensive coordinator.

Was that the only reason Wilks was fired by the 49ers? Let's take a look at some of the things that might have contributed to the dismissal of the former Arizona Cardinals head coach.

Why Did The 49ers Fire Steve Wilks?

Steve Wilks replaced DeMeco Ryan as the 49ers defensive coordinator after the latter became the Houston Texans head coach. From the start of Wilks' tenure, there were rumors of differences in ideologies between the DC and Shanahan.

After the 54-year-old coach was fired, Shanahan hinted that, from a 'scheme standpoint, they needed a change after the Super Bowl loss. With Wilks as their defensive coordinator, the 49ers had the third-best defense in the regular season. They gave up an average of 17.5 points and 322 yards of total offense per game to their opponents in the regular season.

However, the story was not the same in the playoffs. In three playoff games this year, the 49ers' defense gave up an average of 25.7 points and 416 yards of total offense, which was unacceptable. They could have easily lost all three games because of poor defense, resulting in Shanahan and the 49ers deciding to make a change.

Wilks did have the defense prepared for the Super Bowl and they were off to a great start, but ultimately, in the end, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs exploited them and won the game. Injury to Dre Greenlaw in the Super Bowl didn't help the Wilks, but the defensive performance against the Packers and the Lions was quite questionable as well.

I had to sound off on Kyle Shanahan firing Steve Wilks. I apologize for the passion 🤬@49ers pic.twitter.com/AwpOTc7Upk

— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) February 14, 2024

Despite the poor defensive effort in the playoffs, many do believe that Wilks was scapegoated by Shanahan for the Super Bowl loss, and the decision to fire him was not deserving. Former Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley is being viewed as the top candidate to become the next 49ers DC, and it will be interesting to see if he gets the job.

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