SAN FRANCISCO
Lee Heidhues 2.14.2024
Someone had to take a walk out the door following the 49ers shocking loss at the Super Bowl this past Sunday in Las Vegas.
For those who may have forgotten or weren’t paying attention the 49ers lost in overtime to the Kansas City Chiefs, 25.22.
All season the 49ers defensive coach Steve Wilks had received criticism for some of his play calling. After the 49ers were defeated in the most depressing fashion. In overtime. After leading much of the game and taking the lead in overtime. Someone had to go. Three days later it was Steve Wilks.
Excerpted from The Athletic – Steve Kawakami – 2.14.2024
49ers’ scapegoat?
Steve Wilks’ firing is a bad look. The mistake was hiring an ill-fitting defensive coordinator.
A year ago, Kyle Shanahan gave Steve Wilks a great opportunity that was also mostly unfair to him at the very same time. Both things. Built upon each other.
A great job because it was difficult enough that anyone who succeeded would be heralded as a great defensive mind and possibly delivered a head-coaching job at the next convenient moment. Difficult because it was loaded with great players, great resources, great responsibility and the greatest expectations.
Which is why it’s logical to say that Shanahan’s decision to fire Wilks as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator on Wednesday was two partially contradictory things at the same time — an extremely awkward moment of very public Super Bowl-loss scapegoating and also the logical conclusion of a failed year-long experiment.
It could’ve worked, if Wilks developed more chemistry with Fred Warner, Nick Bosa and the rest of the defense in the short time he had, but he didn’t. Wilks, who came up as a defensive secondary coach, was a bit more reserved and much more focused on the defensive backfield than they’re used to. And it became clearer every week that the 49ers’ top defensive players just didn’t fully believe in their DC.
It could’ve worked if Shanahan was willing to adjust some more, but he wasn’t.
It could’ve worked if the 49ers’ defense was a little more focused and a lot less confused during the playoffs. But those distracted moments kept piling up through the Green Bay and Detroit games and then all the way into the last minutes against the Chiefs, when Shanahan at one point called timeout to get the 49ers out of a defensive call he hated and then another when linebacker Oren Burks pinballed around the formation, looking anxiously toward the sideline, before a critical third-down snap trying to figure out where he was supposed to line up. Patrick Mahomes quickly completed a pass for a first down on that play, of course.
And then, in his postgame session, Bosa flatly said that the defense was not prepared well enough to defend Mahomes running the ball on two back-breaking plays. Once Bosa said this, it was pretty clear that Wilks’ status was in serious jeopardy.
Three days later, he was out of a job.
https://theathletic.com/5276062/2024/02/14/steve-wilks-fired-49ers-kawakami
Lee's Perspective 