Kyle Shanahan fires Steve Wilks after 49ers' Super Bowl 58 loss

There is plenty of blame to go around for the San Francisco 49ers' franchise-shaking loss in Super Bowl LVIII. In the halls of Levi Stadium, the aftershocks have already begun.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan announced that the team had fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks on Wednesday.

Wilks was previously the secondary coach for the Carolina Panthers and served as interim head coach for Carolina after the firing of Matt Rhule. He also served as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals during the 2018 NFL season.

San Francisco 49ers HC Kyle Shanahan fires DC Steve Wilks after clashing all season

"This morning I relieved Steve Wilks of his duties," Shanahan said during a conference call on Wednesday. "[We're] going to end up making a change here at defensive coordinator. A really tough decision, because [it] really says nothing about Steve as a man or as a football coach. I mean he's exactly what we wanted as a man. He is a great football coach, but just where we're going and where we're at with our team from a scheme standpoint ... I felt pretty strongly that this was a decision that was best for organization."

Shanahan wanted Wilks to run the same scheme that was already in place from San Francisco's former defensive coordinators, Robert Saleh and DeMeco Ryans. After dominant defensive campaigns in San Francisco, Saleh and Ryans both accepted head coaching jobs with the New York Jets and Houston Texans, respectively. Wilks joined the 49ers after Ryans left during the 2023 offseason.

"It was real tough losing DeMeco," Shanahan said. "It was tough losing [Robert] Saleh the year before. We had committed to not just the system, but the players that had been in the system, from our [defensive] line or linebackers. They had played in it for such a long time. It was my goal to not have to change all of them, and bringing in Steve, who was unbelievable how loyal he was and him trying to do it, but it just ended up not being the right fit. And it hurt for me to do this, but that's exactly why I had to."

Under the guidance of Ryans, San Francisco's defense led the league in several statistical categories, including the fewest points per game allowed (16.3) during the 2022 NFL season.

During Wilks' lone season with the 49ers, the defensive unit took a step in the wrong direction. While the defense still finished third in points per game allowed (17.5), the unit began to fall apart in the postseason — especially in the run game. The Niners allowed an average of 5.1 rushing yards per carry and 149.3 rushing yards per game in their three playoff games.

Shanahan, Wilks and general manager John Lynch also criticized the defensive unit's effort during their two playoff wins. Wilks called it "unacceptable" and "embarrassing."

Shanahan and Wilks were never on the same page throughout the season

After the Week 7 loss against the Minnesota Vikings, Shanahan criticized Wilks for an all-out blitz call that resulted in a Vikings touchdown before halftime. During the team's bye week, Wilks was asked to move from the booth to the field during games. Shanahan also used a timeout during Kansas City's game-winning drive in Super Bowl LVIII because he didn't like the look of the play call, which appeared to be another all-out pressure by Wilks.

"Yeah, I didn't like the look they were in, and one of our players looked a little gassed," Shanahan told reporters on Tuesday.

The 49ers defense played well in the Super Bowl. They allowed just one touchdown during regulation, and it came from a muffed punt deep in San Francisco territory. But the 49ers still watched the Lombardi Trophy slip from their grasp on the Chiefs' 13-play, 75-yard drive in overtime. The game-winning touchdown was perhaps most damning of all for Wilks. Kansas City sealed the game with a play design that the 49ers should have been prepared for — even Chiefs head coach Andy Reid expected them to stop it.