Steve

Wilks

The Jets interviewed Wilks on Wednesday and agreed to terms with him to be their new defensive coordinator. He last coached in the NFL as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator in 2023, spending time with the Panthers and Browns after becoming a one-and-done head coach with the Cardinals in 2018. He was also Missouri’s defensive coordinator in 2021 and served as a volunteer advisor for Charlotte in 2024. Newly hired Jets head coach Aaron Glenn will not be calling defensive plays, so Wilks’ role will be that of a play-caller to begin his Jets tenure.

As Schultz notes, new head coach Aaron Glenn will not be calling plays on defense, putting extra emphasis on the defensive coordinator job in New York. Wilks last coached in 2024, serving as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator. He was fired after a single season despite San Francisco making the Super Bowl. Wilks also interviewed for defensive coordinator openings with the Colts and Falcons this offseason, though both positions have since been filled.

Wilks has been coaching in some capacity for 20 years with his time in the NFL dating back as far as 2006. He most recently served as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator. Wilks held the gig for one year and was fired after the team’s Super Bowl loss to Kansas City. Atlanta is helmed by Raheem Morris, who also has some Shanahn routes. Morris coached under Mike Shanahan in Washington. The familiarity makes him a strong candidate to be the Falcons’ next defensive coordinator. Wilks also interviewed with the Colts for the same position.

Wilks and former Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo are both scheduled to meet with the Colts next week. Wilks served one season as the 49ers defensive coordinator in 2023 but has held countless positions around the league, with his first NFL role coming in 2006 as the Bears defensive backs coach. In his lone season with the 49ers, Wilks’ defense ranked third in points allowed and was eighth in yards allowed.

Shanahan scheduled a surprise press conference to announce the news earlier today. The move comes as a bit of a surprise given how well San Francisco’s defense played in Wilks’ first and only season as the defensive coordinator. The 49ers finished the regular season ranked third in points allowed and 10th in EPA per play allowed. Shanahan also said he did not expect any moves within the coaching ranks as recently as Monday, though he noted that he hadn’t talked to any of his staff members about the matter yet. Though the 49ers’ defense arguably came up short in the Super Bowl, they held Patrick Mahomes to 19 points in regulation. Shanahan notably called a timeout late in overtime, seemingly to switch a defensive play called by Wilks. Even if Shanahan didn’t like Wilks’ calls on defense, the move feels more akin to making Wilks the scapegoat for the loss than anything else. San Francisco will now have to hire a third defensive coordinator in as many years. Wilks, who got multiple head coaching interviews during the playoffs, should be able to quickly land another job in the NFL.

The Chargers put in a request to speak with Wilks earlier in the week, but they’ll now have competition as the Falcons have also thrown their hat into the ring. The long-time defensive coordinator joined the 49ers last offseason after being passed on for the Panthers’ head coaching gig despite a 6-6 record as their interim coach during the 2022 season. Wilks was one-and-done as a head coach with the Cardinals in 2018 but has received multiple endorsements across the league as a high-end head coaching candidate. It’s possible more teams target Wilks in the coming days as we’re still early into the coaching cycle.

There is no shortage of vacant head coach positions this year, and there are few assistants more qualified than Wilks. In what seems like a yearly tradition, Wilks could be yet another San Francisco assistant to depart in the offseason for a head coaching job.

The 49ers replace DeMeco Ryans with another 4-3 base guy who won’t change a lot of the structure of the defense. Wilks’ Panthers finished 25th in defensive DVOA in 2022, but he took over after Matt Rhule’s firing and four of Carolina’s best five single-game scores came with Wilks in charge. Wilks doesn’t have a very long history as a coordinator -- one season in Carolina in 2017, and one season in Cleveland in 2019 -- but his reputation proceeds him and this is a nice rebound for the 49ers.

The 49ers requested an interview with Wilks before former defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans was officially named head coach of the Texans. It’s safe to say Wilks looks like an early favorite to land the job, as Rapoport pointed out the 49ers have a need, and Wilks is hoping to land a head coaching job. The 49ers have seen their last two defensive coordinators go on to head coaching gigs, and could help Wilks accomplish the same goal. Wilks has already announced his plans to coach elsewhere in 2023 after losing out to Frank Reich for the Panthers’ head coaching job, despite going an impressive 6-6 last season. He also has experience as a DC, serving in the same roles with the Browns (2019) and the Panthers (2017).

Which, uh, isn’t technically vacant yet but it sure seems likely that DeMeco Ryans will be gone soon. Wilks did great work with the Panthers as their head coach and definitely would appear to be a prime candidate to keep the 49ers defense as their current levels. Wilks was 6-6 with the Panthers last season and has also been an NFL DC with the Browns in 2019 and Panthers in 2017.