The 49ers are in the market for a new defensive coordinator. Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Wednesday in a conference call announced the team and Steve Wilks parted ways after the 2023 season. The news comes just a day after Shanahan said he expected all of his assistants to be back for the 2024 campaign.
Shanahan expressed a desire to bring in a defensive coordinator more in line philosophically with what San Francisco does on that side of the ball. Since Shanahan and general manager John Lynch took over they’ve been a defense predicated on a strong defensive front. Wilks’ background is in the secondary which may be part of the reason the team’s star-studded defensive front struggled at times to generate pressure and stop the run this season.
Their two previous defensive coordinators, Robert Saleh and DeMeco Ryans, both had backgrounds as linebackers coaches with Ryans learning under Saleh who came from the Pete Carroll defensive coaching tree.
It’s likely the 49ers’ next hire, whether internal or from outside the building, will be of a similar mold.
