Breaking News: Shocking Firing of Coach Sparks Outrage After Super Bowl Heartbreak
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan polarized the fanbase this week when he fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks a few days after the team lost the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime.
The Super Bowl loss can’t be blamed on Wilks, even though his unit was responsible for giving up the game-winning touchdown drive to the Chiefs. The 49ers failed to hold on to a double-digit lead once again in the Super Bowl. Shanahan’s decision to take the ball first in overtime meant quarterback Patrick Mahomes had four downs to move on the 49ers’ defense every time they moved the chains.
If you had told bettors before the game that the 49ers would keep the Chiefs to 25 points in five quarters, most would have put money on San Francisco.
However, there were other reasons for Wilks’ downfall. As Vincent Pensabene with GH noted, Wilks’ defense gave up 25.7 points per game in the playoffs. That was about eight points more than the 49ers’ defense allowed in the regular season when they gave up the third-least points in the league.
Ian Rapoport with the NFL Network explained Thursday that the 49ers’ decision to fire Wilks wasn’t an impulse decision by Shanahan. (Shanahan himself said the decision to fire Wilks wasn’t easy.) Rapoport said NFL insiders thought Wilks’ firing might happen after the 49ers used a timeout in overtime when there was miscommunication on defense.
Dontay Atkinson with ReachNorth Media made a great point on X about Wilks being fired due to defensive communication:
Steve Wilks didn’t get let go because he’s a bad coach. He didn’t get let go because of the Super Bowl. He didn’t get let go because he’s black. He didn’t get let go because he screwed up.
He was let go because the front half of the defense wasn’t in synch with the back half. And it was like that frequently this season. This roster is too elite for that to continue.
Sometimes chemistry is just wrong. It’s not a judgment on Wilks. He’s an outstanding football mind. It just didn’t gel with this program.
While there were problems with chemistry in crucial moments, not all of the issues can be blamed on Wilks. Wilks was in his first season as the 49ers defensive coordinator this season. He had to deal with many injuries to key players on defense.
49ers fans were polarized by Wilks being fired after making the Super Bowl. Here are the best takes on X Wilks’ firing.