49ers hire Steve Wilks as defensive coordinator, per source: What style will he bring?

June 02, 2024

The 49ers have hired Steve Wilks as their next defensive coordinator, a league source confirmed to The Athletic on Tuesday. Here’s what you need to know:

Wilks replaces DeMeco Ryans, who accepted the Houston Texans’ head-coaching job.
Last season, Carolina promoted Wilks from defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach to interim head coach on Oct. 10, 2022, after firing Matt Rhule.
Wilks went 6-6 during his interim stint with the Panthers after he inherited a 1-4 Carolina team.
He served as the Cardinals’ head coach in 2018. Wilks followed as defensive coordinator at Missouri in 2021 and with the Browns in 2019. Prior to his time in Arizona, he spent 2012 to 2017 with Carolina, filling the roles of defensive backs coach, assistant head coach and defensive coordinator.

The Athletic’s instant analysis:

What style will Wilks bring to the 49ers?

Wilks was a defensive back in his playing days and a DB coach at his positional coaching jobs. That’s certainly his area of expertise, and the 49ers believe it can fit into the framework of their existing defense — which finished ranked No. 1 in the NFL across multiple categories last season.

“I love our defensive staff, I love our defense,” coach Kyle Shanahan said last week while the 49ers were still in the process of filling the vacancy. “I’m trying to get something where we don’t have to turn much over. … (Hopefully) it’s someone who can work with who we have and what we’ve accomplished here because I love the scheme that we run and I feel the foundation we have on the D-line, at linebacker, at corner, at safety, I think our players fit very well in it too. So I’m hoping to find someone who fits with us personality-wise and scheme-wise.”

Wilks has adopted pattern-matching zone coverages in the past related to the Cover 3, which the 49ers’ defense still runs with relative frequency. The 49ers have diversified their coverages on the back end over the past few years and have even evolved from a rush-over-coverage to — arguably — a coverage-over-rush unit. Wilks’ hiring further underscores that changing truth. — Lombardi

More work to be done for Niners D

Wilks inherits the league’s top defense, one with three Pro Bowlers — Nick Bosa, Fred Warner and Talanoa Hufanga — as well as the probable defensive player of the year (Bosa). Still, there is work to be done.

As dominant as Bosa was, there was a sense that the defensive line should have been better at pressuring the quarterback, and finding an edge player who can line up opposite Bosa is an offseason priority. A huge chunk of the defensive line is poised for free agency, and the 49ers must bring in roughly five players either through free agency or the draft. The team also must figure out what to do with Jimmie Ward, its longest-tenured player, who is set to be a free agent. Ward was moved to nickel cornerback this season, which he saw as a demotion and which could lead to his departure.

Wilks, whose background is in the secondary, must decide whether Deommodore Lenoir’s future is at nickel cornerback or on the outside. — Barrows

How might this impact the rest of the 49ers staff?

Cornerbacks coach Cory Undlin’s contract has expired and the 49ers reportedly aren’t looking to renew it, which makes sense given the addition of Wilks and his DB background. The 49ers had previously split DB coaching duties between Undlin and safeties coach Daniel Bullocks. Now, with Wilks in tow, Bullocks should be in line for a promotion to DB coach.

The 49ers now have venerated coaches at all three levels of the defense. Kris Kocurek remains in charge of the D-line, Johnny Holland is the linebackers coach and Wilks — though he’s the overall defensive coordinator — should be a particularly valuable asset for the secondary. Shanahan’s goal was to maintain continuity while simultaneously allowing for the evolution of his defense to continue. That’s the theme of this hire. — Lombardi

Springboard to a Wilks head-coaching job?

The 49ers’ last two defensive coordinators — Robert Saleh and Ryans — left to become head coaches and Wilks eventually wants to become a head coach again, too. Saleh’s and Ryans’ departures have led to extra third-round draft picks for the 49ers as part of the league’s program to encourage minority hires, and Wilks’ hire would net even more selections.

Those extra picks are nice, although Shanahan might prefer keeping his staff intact for a little while. Every time an assistant gets a head-coaching job, he pilfers Shanahan’s staff. It’s not yet known who Ryans will take with him to Houston, but he’s eyeing passing game coordinator Bobby Slowik as well as some defensive assistants. — Barrows

Required reading

(Photo: Bob Donnan / USA Today)

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