Steve Wilks' rollercoaster season as 49ers defensive coordin

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By JOSH DUBOW Associated Press SANTA CLARA, California – Steve Wilks has had a roller coaster ride in his first season as defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers. Faced with the difficult task of taking over a successful defense that still had the same position coaches and system as his predecessor DeMeco Ryans, Wilks attempted to add his own twists without ruining what had worked so well in the past. There were good times, like a dominant five-game start to the season, and bad, like a three-game losing streak in October that led to Wilks moving from the coaching booth to the bench. But the season will end with Wilks calling out defenses in the Super Bowl tasked with stopping Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Despite reaching the Super Bowl stage, Wilks' unit is still under fire after two lackluster playoff performances, including allowing 182 rushing yards in the NFC title win against Detroit that included a handful of plays, including a 15-yard run by Jahmyr Gibbs, where some players were seen giving less than maximum effort. "I can tell you as a defense that it is unacceptable," Wilks said. “We have to make sure we play every try as if it is going to make a difference in the game. You could see in those particular plays that he wasn't at our level. “Those guys understand it and they know it and, honestly, it was embarrassing.



Those thoughts were echoed all week by coach Kyle Shanahan, general manager John Lynch and defensive players like 2022 AP Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa and All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner. "Is not sufficient. It’s not good enough at all,” Warner said. “The standard has been what it has been since I have been here. We rely heavily on winning games largely on defense, holding teams to minimum points, suffocating teams, dictating how the America Mobile Number List game will play out based on how we go. That hasn't been the case in the last few games.” The Niners led the NFL in fewest points allowed (16.3 per game) and fewest yards allowed (300.6 per game) and were tied for second in points (30) last season under Ryans, going as far as NFC title game for the second. consecutive season. This season's numbers fell only marginally, with the 49ers allowing 1.2 more points per game, 3.3 more yards per game and generating two fewer takeaways. “It was stressful at the beginning of the year,” Bosa said. “It seemed like everyone was coming after him. I felt sorry for him because it is never the fault of one player in football.







A Super Bowl victory would be a measure of validation for Wilks, who was passed over a little more than a year ago for the head coaching job in Carolina despite a 6-6 streak as interim coach. Wilks then joined the Niners staff, while the Panthers had a 2-15 season and fired coach Frank Reich after 11 games. Wilks is now headed to his third Super Bowl as an assistant coach, having missed previous trips in the 2006 season with Chicago and the 2015 season with Carolina when he was defensive backs coach. While Wilks is focused on the task at hand, he took the time to send a message on social media after the Niners won the NFC title game. "When I look back on my life, I realize that every time I thought I was being REJECTED of something good, I was actually being redirected to something better," Wilks wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Wilks, who said before the season that he preferred to call lineups from the box on the field, was moved to the bench in November to improve communication after a midseason slump that included poor tackling and energy from his unit. Improvement on the field continued and Warner said it was beneficial to be able to look the play caller in the eye when they discovered adjustments needed to be made during a game.