The 49ers Fire Steve Wilks

Three days after the 49ers lost the Super Bowl, they found their scapegoat -- defensive coordinator Steve Wilks.

Kyle Shanahan just announced that the 49ers have fired Wilks. This should come as no surprise, considering Shanahan was asked just yesterday if the team would keep Wilks, and Shanahan gave a long, vague answer, as opposed to a simple, "yes."

So Wilks is out. In retrospect, he was doomed from the start, because the 49ers asked him to be someone he's not. Essentially, they asked him to be the defensive coordinator he replaced -- DeMeco Ryans. Asked Wilks to run Ryans' defensive scheme and call plays from Ryans' spot on the sideline, not up in the booth where Wilks wanted to be. Which means they undercut Wilks at every turn and made it nearly impossible for him to win over his players. 

But it's wrong to scapegoat Wilks for losing the Super Bowl, because he isn't responsible for that collapse -- Kyle Shanahan is. Wilks' defense held the Chiefs defense to just 19 points through four quarters -- that's outstanding. Ryans gave up 44 points to the Chiefs in 2022 and Robert Saleh gave up 31 to them in 2020.

Frankly, Wilks coached much better than Shanahan did in the Super Bowl. Shanahan's offense was awful, and then he didn't seem to know the rules for overtime in the playoffs. Shanahan's the one who decided to take the ball first. The Chiefs still are laughing at him for making that choice.

Wilks deserved better.