Steve Wilks fired as 49ers defensive coordinator after one season: 'It just ended up being not the right fit'

oaken1

Stone Cold
Supporting Member
Banned from P+R
Joined
Mar 13, 2004
Posts
16,525
Reaction score
12,945
Location
Modesto, California
expected that. I got a good laugh when shanny called a timeout and made Steve change his defensive call.

But if im being honest he did much better in the super bowl than I expected.

its tough, because the niners are so loaded with defensive talent you gotta think most anybody could be successful with that group... but then you got andy reid across the field from you...and he has made lots of good coaches look like rookies over the years
 

gimpy

ASFN Lifer
Joined
Aug 23, 2009
Posts
3,069
Reaction score
2,578
Location
Flagstaff, Az
expected that. I got a good laugh when shanny called a timeout and made Steve change his defensive call.

But if im being honest he did much better in the super bowl than I expected.

its tough, because the niners are so loaded with defensive talent you gotta think most anybody could be successful with that group... but then you got andy reid across the field from you...and he has made lots of good coaches look like rookies over the years
Well, Andy Reid, and, Patrick Mahomes.
 

HairZach

Hall of Famer
Joined
Sep 7, 2020
Posts
1,202
Reaction score
2,303
Location
VA
expected that. I got a good laugh when shanny called a timeout and made Steve change his defensive call.

But if im being honest he did much better in the super bowl than I expected.

its tough, because the niners are so loaded with defensive talent you gotta think most anybody could be successful with that group... but then you got andy reid across the field from you...and he has made lots of good coaches look like rookies over the years

I think this might be similar to the Packers' situation. Joe Berry's defense with the Packers was awful most of the year, then noticeably got better the last few games. After Joe got fired it was revealed that the improvement happened after Lefleur took a bigger part in the defensive game planning.

There were reports Shanahan had forced Wilks to adopt DeMeco's system and that he had to correct some of Wilks tendencies throughout the season. Shanahan may have felt like he had to micromanage Wilks.
 

BritCard

ASFN Icon
Joined
Jan 10, 2020
Posts
21,144
Reaction score
37,318
Location
UK
Seems like scapegoating to me. I thought Wilks did well.

They didn't lose the Superbowl because of defense, they lost because they muffed a punt.

They had the number 4 ranked defense per DVOA, and while they were number 1 last year they were 5th the year before under Ryans and 7th the year before that under Saleh.
 

TRW

ASFN Addict
Joined
Jan 13, 2003
Posts
7,468
Reaction score
6,813
Location
Avondale, AZ
Exactly. Does he file multiple lawsuits or just keep adding to one large one?
He can piggyback it onto the suit he piggybacked on, the Flores lawsuit. But, I doubt he will. There were signs that he was not in tune with the HC during the season. This just is a case of employer/employee not meshing personality wise IMO.

Really nothing to see here, again IMO.
 

Brian in Mesa

Advocatus Diaboli
Super Moderator
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
May 13, 2002
Posts
70,682
Reaction score
21,214
Location
The Dark Side
He can piggyback it onto the suit he piggybacked on, the Flores lawsuit. But, I doubt he will. There were signs that he was not in tune with the HC during the season. This just is a case of employer/employee not meshing personality wise IMO.

Really nothing to see here, again IMO.
No different than us firing him after seeing what he did in one full season as our head coach, IMHO. It was clear he was not the long-term answer, so why run him back the next season?
 

JohnnyCakes

Miserables
Joined
Oct 28, 2020
Posts
3,438
Reaction score
2,672
Location
Phoenix
Seems like scapegoating to me. I thought Wilks did well.

They didn't lose the Superbowl because of defense, they lost because they muffed a punt.

They had the number 4 ranked defense per DVOA, and while they were number 1 last year they were 5th the year before under Ryans and 7th the year before that under Saleh.
you can fired for other reason besides performance. He could be difficult to work with and/or insubordinate
 

daves

Keepin' it real!
Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2003
Posts
3,348
Reaction score
6,508
Location
Orange County, CA
Seems like scapegoating to me. I thought Wilks did well.

They didn't lose the Superbowl because of defense, they lost because they muffed a punt.

They had the number 4 ranked defense per DVOA, and while they were number 1 last year they were 5th the year before under Ryans and 7th the year before that under Saleh.
I quoted from The Athletic in the Black Monday thread:
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.
Plus, they added Chase Young. That's a big statistical drop, and even moreso, I think it was just a matter of Wilks & Shanahan not being on the same page / communicating well (cf. Shanahan ordering Wilks out of the booth and into the sideline around mid season) and Wilks' defensive philosophy and coaching skills not fitting in with the 49ers' personnel.
 

Redsz

We do this together
Joined
Jan 21, 2004
Posts
4,570
Reaction score
1,368
He can piggyback it onto the suit he piggybacked on, the Flores lawsuit. But, I doubt he will. There were signs that he was not in tune with the HC during the season. This just is a case of employer/employee not meshing personality wise IMO.

Really nothing to see here, again IMO.
Seems to happen alot to Wilks. There is a pattern emerging here.
 

Cheesebeef

ASFN IDOL
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2003
Posts
88,600
Reaction score
61,335
I quoted from The Athletic in the Black Monday thread:

Plus, they added Chase Young. That's a big statistical drop, and even moreso, I think it was just a matter of Wilks & Shanahan not being on the same page / communicating well (cf. Shanahan ordering Wilks out of the booth and into the sideline around mid season) and Wilks' defensive philosophy and coaching skills not fitting in with the 49ers' personnel.
yeah... that defense should have been an ALL-TIME level squad with the talent they had on it and in both of our games, I didn't come out super impressed.
 

Covert Rain

Father smelt of elderberries!
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2005
Posts
34,218
Reaction score
12,111
Location
Arizona
Seems to happen alot to Wilks. There is a pattern emerging here.
At one point they showed Shanahan pacing the sidelines POd and yelling into his headset. I wonder if that was at Wilks.
 

mjb21aztd

ASFN Icon
Joined
Nov 1, 2005
Posts
15,771
Reaction score
7,675

Staff online

Forum statistics

Threads
537,269
Posts
5,268,340
Members
6,275
Latest member
Beagleperson
Top