The 49ers will interview former Panthers interim head coach Steve Wilks for their defensive coordinator job according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. That interview is set to take place Monday.
San Francisco has also requested to interview former Commanders defensive backs coach Chris Harris.
Wilks is a little bit of a departure from the defensive coordinators head coach Kyle Shanahan has hired in the past. Both Robert Saleh and DeMeco Ryans were young coaches with no defensive coordinator experience. Wilks is 53 and brings a wealth of experience at the NFL and college levels.
He broke into the NFL in 2006 as the Bears’ defensive backs coach following an 11-year career coaching in the college ranks. He earned his first coordinator job in 2017 with the Panthers, got a head coaching job with the Cardinals in 2018, and then landed with the Panthers as a defensive coordinator in 2019.
Wilks was Carolina’s defensive passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach last year before becoming their interim head coach when Matt Rhule was fired following their Week 5 loss to the 49ers. As an interim coach, Wilks led the struggling Panthers to a 6-6 record and had them in the playoff hunt until the final weeks of the season.
