The San Francisco 49ers fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks three days after dropping Tremendous Bowl LVIII to the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs and simply over a yr after he was employed.
“It simply ended up not being the proper match,” the 49ers head coach said Kyle Shanahan throughout a press convention Wednesday.
“We felt fairly strongly that this was the perfect determination for our group,” Shanahan added. “Though it was one I didn't wish to take, it was one thing that when I noticed totally different course was finest for our group, it was one thing I needed to do.”
The transfer comes after Shanahan mentioned Tuesday that he anticipated all of his coaches to return for the 2024 season. He additionally praised Wilks' work with the protection final season, which had up-and-down outcomes.
“I believed they have been one of many causes we obtained this far,” Shanahan mentioned Monday. “I believed they did a lot of good issues. They did loads of good issues in that sport [Super Bowl LVIII], additionally. Identical to our entire crew. Our crew has finished loads of good issues this yr, however fell brief within the final sport.”
The way in which the Tremendous Bowl ended Sunday night time introduced Wilks and the way the 49ers' protection performed into focus. Defensive finish Nick Bosa mentioned the unit “may have been extra ready” for the zone-read performs that Patrick Mahomes efficiently executed in short-yardage conditions late within the sport.
“It’s important to anticipate that Mahomes desires to have the ball in his arms,” Bosa mentioned. “We've performed loads of read-option groups, so we now have the solutions for that. Nevertheless it's robust once you play a crew like this that may beat you in all types of various methods. They ended up being actually huge the few occasions they did. take him out We are going to be taught from it.”
Shanahan himself known as a timeout was forced to use with 2:48 left in time beyond regulation it was on account of a defensive name he didn't like from Wilks.
“Yeah, I didn't just like the look of it [the defense was] are available and a few of our gamers seemed a bit of burned out,” mentioned Shanahan, who beforehand moved Wilks from the sales space to the sector throughout a three-game dropping streak in October.
The 49ers employed Wilks on February 9, 2023 to supervise the protection after he spent the 2022 season as a Carolina Panthers defensive assistant and later interim head coach after the firing of Matt Rhule.