Kyle Shanahan, 49ers’ decision to fire DC Steve Wilks ‘feels weird’ | Pro Football Talk | NFL on NBC

Steve Wilks is out as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator despite holding Patrick Mahomes to 19 points in SB LVIII regulation, a decision that PFT believes was an overreaction by head coach Kyle Shanahan. #NBCSports #ProFootballTalk #kyleshanahan
» Watch Pro Football Talk live on Peacock weekdays 7a-9a: peacocktv.smart.link/v82e9dl56
» Subscribe to NFL on NBC: kzbin.info?sub_...
» Get the latest from Pro Football Talk: profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/
NBC Sports Group serves sports fans 24/7 with premier live events, insightful studio shows, and compelling original programming. NBC Sports is an established leader in the sports media landscape with an unparalleled collection of sports properties that include the Olympics, NFL, Premier League, NASCAR, PGA TOUR, the Kentucky Derby, Tour de France, French Open, IndyCar and many more. Subscribe to our channel for the latest sporting news and highlights!
Mike Florio, creator of the industry-leading Profootballtalk.com, offers his NFL insight alongside regular guests, including former NFL athletes such as Chris Simms. Pro Football Talk informs and entertains with the most up-to-date news and analysis surrounding the topical NFL stories of the day.
Watch more from NFL on NBC KZbin: / nflonnbc
Visit NBC Sports: www.nbcsports.com
Find NBC Sports on Facebook: / nbcsports
Follow NBC Sports on Twitter: / nbcsports
Follow NBC Sports on Instagram: / nbcsports
www.nbcsports.com/nfl/sunday-...
nbcsports.com/motors/nascar
nbcsports.com/soccer/premier-...
Kyle Shanahan, 49ers’ decision to fire DC Steve Wilks ‘feels weird’ | Pro Football Talk | NFL on NBC
/ nflonnbc

[@daveclark8337]

On the last play Bosa chose to rush inside and left Mahomes wide open to roll outside. That's on him.

[@marcusbell4104]

Bosa also shat the bed on the 4th down play in OT. He completely crashed down, and Mahomes had an easy conversion.

[@thecodetalker5742]

NIck Bosa blew his assignment on those two QB runs.

[@leebutz4727]

Exactly

[@NYCNUF]

..and blamed his DC

[@vincentmedley5091]

And you got mad because Wilks points out his mistakes.

[@vincentmedley5091]

So this man, that was a poor fit had better stats than the previous coordinators and held Mahomes to 19 pts. Its funny that Shanahan corrected the defense, but couldn't correct himself. His offense was horrible.

[@vincentmedley5091]

Bosa complaining about not being prepared for the zone read.😂😅 I'm 51 and I know how to play it.. DE slow reads the QB,that his man. Middle linebacker takes the dive. Not that hard.

[@2kool42]

The SF defense outplayed their offense. Maybe Shanahan should fire himself.

[@chrisstowe3448]

He was fired for the way he called games all season, not just the sb. His defensive playcalling on that ot drive was fucking terrible.

[@angelmanfredy]

To be fair the Chiefs D was pretty damn impressive this year. No one scores easily on KC.

[@kerrytrufant1862]

Boss been playing to long to make that comment. He's making himself look bad.the coach can only get you to the field.

[@Rhaspun]

@@chrisstowe3448 Yes. There was that one game when Kyle called a time out. Wilks was planning a blitz for some reason. Even a TV commentator had questioned the blitz call.

[@Discoursivist]

Yes obviously he wasn't fired because of the Super Bowl lol. Also, Shanahan is the greatest coach in the NFL and it's not even close.

[@jewald4387]

You lost the game in the 1st half when his defense was all over KC. Score TDs if you want to win.

[@greglyon1402]

Wilks defense held Chiefs to 12 points in the game (not counting OT). The TD after the punt was not really on the defense.

[@byronsmith3152]

Kyle cost the niners the win but WIlkes defense was not good when it mattered the most because his scheme sucks. It has not been good all year long.

[@ryanm6087]

The defense was statistically better last year with less talent. It’s not about one game but the whole year. How did the defense look against Detroit?

[@blindthief]

@@greglyon1402 How is it not on the defense?? Scantling was left super wide open. That's unacceptable for a top ranked defense. And they basically gave up in overtime, allowing Mahomes to do whatever he wanted. I don't think Wilks should be fired but their defense clearly needs to improve.

[@BMXTraining]

Wrong! If Dan Campbell doesn’t flub the Championship game, Wilks would had been fired two weeks ago…gave up 31 and 150 rush yards (last three games!)

[@Tomtoe.24]

Kyle doesn't want the blame on him. Easy to point to someone else. Smh, horrible.

[@datstovey]

They fired the wrong coach

[@byronsmith3152]

While Niners fans do blame Kyle, Wilkes was bad all year long. He took a better roster and made them worse.

[@irlshinigami4390]

​@@byronsmith3152how? Not statistically, that's for sure. And they got to the super bowl with his defense. And in the super bowl, the defense outplayed their offense

[@pdfortune]

@@byronsmith3152 It wasn't really about the Super Bowl. Wilks wasn't that great most of the season.

[@byronsmith3152]

@@pdfortune Oh I completely agree.

[@zzxmookysxzz4103]

The offensive unit are the ones responsible for this loss.

[@mcwcnw]

So for those same reasons.... doesn't Shanahan deserve some blame also? He continues to make bad decisions in big games...??? Plus, he knew the background of Wilks when he hired him right??

[@tagtag-connected5263]

Throws everybody under the bus except him. DC, Analytics, players, the milk man.. anyone but him

[@bruh-you-serious...]

That's the nature of the NFL, HC will blame the coordinators to save themselves, just happened in Philly, thats how it goes but we all know Kyle isnt that dude, always has a lead doesnt have the grit to finish. Its not wilks fault that Bosa, young and hargrave got pushed around. We saw chris jones wreck the game non of the 9ers d-line matched that level

[@nw6866]

However, in this case, our defense went from #1 to #10, had problems tackling all year, and looked awful in the playoffs. Wilks also made bad calls during the SB. So, just because we were functional, doesn't mean we were fully efficient and it just took the right teams to really expose what the fans saw all year. Why Kyle refuses to fix the oline, I don't know. He does bear some responsibility, but to say Wilks was doing really way isn't reflected in what we've struggled with all season.

[@Freerider93]

Not just NFL....life

[@getthebagnelly]

​@@nw6866still took them to the Superbowl. Salah didn't get fired he got promoted and they lost in 2019, Demico got promoted. Kyle knows he fucked up

[@carlfrye1566]

You just made a case that one player was the difference, that doesn't say much for KC's defensive coordinator, so take Jones away and they lose?

[@rodneybroadnax3242]

This firing happened out of nowhere. The captain goes down with his ship. He doesn't throw the crew over board.🙂

[@s.omarjobe1068]

Kyle Shanahan’s boss is John Lynch who was coached and mentored by the senior advisor Mike Shanahan. So Lynch will never fire Kyle unless his own job is at-risk! Until then, this is nice little cabal that will operate with impunity and rotate the blame game until time runs out or they break through.

[@tagtag-connected5263]

It’s sickening

[@christopherneighbors4535]

Oh the horror, being very successful year after year….

[@getthebagnelly]

​@@christopherneighbors4535 there's no success if you don't win the super bowl so it's just a wasted season

[@onthemarc81]

It's funny he keeps mentioning the lions game but fails to mention in the 1st half Kyle's all world offense only put up 7 points.

[@letsinvestigateit]

and mahomes went down the field with ease in 2nd half like they had no defense

[@byronsmith3152]

What is your point exactly? You do realize that the defense gave up 24 points int he first half right? They had over 140 yards rushing by halftime as well. That means he had a week to plan to stop the one thing the entire world knew was coming, and he could not do it. He was bad all year BTW. Fans wanted him gone during the bye week. That is when Kyle made him come down from the booth.

[@KingPolo985]

@@letsinvestigateit you must’ve watched the Super Bowl drunk . Chiefs 1st touchdown comes off a muffed punt when they recovered ball in the red zone in the 3rd qtr.

[@KingPolo985]

@@byronsmith3152 you do realize that the 49ers defense got an INT off Mahomes at the Chiefs 44 yard line and failed to even get a field goal.

[@byronsmith3152]

@@KingPolo985 Damn I swear people fail at reading. What does that have to do with what I said? Great they got a pick. Kyle blew it. Duh. But how does that change anything I said? Wilkes zone schemes were bad all year long. He switched to a zone scheme which then allowed Mahomes to get in a groove with Kelce. Do you not understand why going to a soft zone vs Mahomes is a major issue? Kyle even called a TO in OT because Wilkes refused to change his scheme, even though KC had an extra down to play with.

[@edwardmccloskey7973]

Shanahan should be looking over his shoulder these days. I think his arrogance will get him at some point. Classic choker as a coach.

[@lawrencequiroz6811]

👍✌️

[@erikdayne5429]

I wish, but Jed York loves him and won’t consider making a move until this team bottoms out

[@gcashby1871]

Kyle will feel even more heat when Rams beat him to the NFC West title next year.

[@pyrovania]

I saw this coming MONTHS ago. It isn't about the Superbowl. It is about the defense being highly compensated and performing worse than last year.

[@evony987]

Because Jed is not stupid like you. ​@@erikdayne5429

[@devenpfund3806]

The choke artist literally blames the dude who kept his offense on the field the whole game. They literally KILLED KC’s run game and were overworked because of Kyle’s GARBAGE offense. The guy literally does all the work for him and gets stabbed in the back for it.

[@Bl00dwerK]

Exactly. KS is an asshole. Dude was probably drunk all week and didn't have a good gameplan for KC. The defense sure seemed to.

[@tobi_versace]

Hey had the best offense in the NFL. 4 players over 1000 yards, one had over 2000 lol 2 MVP candidates. Wtf? Yeah they weren't good in the SB but the defense blew games all year

[@byronsmith3152]

Dude just stop. Wilkes blew it with his scheme in the 4th quarter. He went to soft zone, which then allowed Mahomes and Kelce to go off. Yes, I still blame Kyle for the terrible play calling, especially in the 3rd, but do not sit there and act like WIlkes changing his scheme when he didn't need to was not a problem. His scheme was bad all year long. I love how people want to ignore the GB and Lions game where the niners couldn't stop anything.

[@letsinvestigateit]

Nope wilks choked they had the lead twice at end of the game and he played a vanilla prevent defense in the superbowl. He basically let mahomes win the superbowl.

[@MrKwatts27]

That’s Kyle for you. There’s no outside DCs coming

[@leonwilliam6449]

Wow he should have fired himself or demoted himself to OC there were many questionable coaching calls specifically on offense Defense played fine

[@seesthruit]

He himself should have run the ball all the way down in the 4th! Kyle blew it there!

[@cag19549]

Here's a thought, you take the job. I'm sure you have tons of experience

[@vayang229]

We need Bellicheck as HC and move Kyle to OC

[@josephgonsalves8579]

Wilkes got taken to school in the 4th quarter of that game. The Zero defense never works, But that isn't why Wilkes got fired. He lost his job halfway through the season after the Bengal and Viking games when he and Shanahan had a difference of opinion on how the plays should be called.

[@Malik-mw2ry]

​@@cag19549It makes for terrible reading when you guys stray over to here from KZbin for kids

[@Nyjeezy]

I kind of felt bad for the 49ers for this loss. But now fck them, what a punk move. They were one possesion from being champs, helpd the Chiefs to no touchdowns in regulation besides the muffed punt and somehow the DC is the problem??

[@gunner_mike]

He was the problem all year. You don't know Niners ball

[@coreyburgh5831]

It wasn't just the SB or the playoffs. The defense improved in terms of the roster but was inferior to past performances under different DCs

[@ScarSavage]

obviously you dont. lol @@gunner_mike

[@byronsmith3152]

@@ScarSavage Actually he does because WIlkes was bad all year long. The offense bailed him out many times this year.

[@jsanders9975]

​@@gunner_mikeHe had better stats then Demico Ryan's

[@greglyon1402]

I do not think Wilks was fired for his performance as DC. I think there were major disagreements over the course of the season and Kyle felt he need someone more on the same page as himself. Niners are really good at keeping this all in house. Ironic though. Both DCs hold their opponents under 20 points in a tie game. One gets fired and one gets a new contract.

[@byronsmith3152]

Yeah because the DC took a better roster and made them worse for the year. While the other DC turned his unit into one of the best.

[@msp5138]

And what page is that?

[@kevo212]

let’s not make stuff up

[@MrKwatts27]

Basically, he needed someone that won’t test his ego or our players egos. Our team are soft💀

[@christopherebanks5993]

it's been an issue at the start of the year.. RUN DEFENSE was #1 or #2 for three consecutive years, then u bring in Wilks, and it goes to #26. If they would have had the same defensive #'s as the prior 3 years, they would've had top 2 offense and top 2 defensive.

[@smoove2432]

Kyle has blown 3 superbowls now by not running the ball. He came out of halftime with 6 throws straight and 3 3 and outs with the lead 🤔...

[@pyrovania]

He had a lead in overtime too.

[@vayang229]

I kept screaming at the TV on Kyle run the freakin ball which they didn't led to alot of 3 and outs especially 2nd and long 3rd and long is difficult to convert

[@blakeharris58]

As much as Kyle the OC needed to run the ball, Dan the HC needed a stop.

[@smoove2432]

@blakeharris58 none of that matters when Julio made an all time catch to put you on the 22 yard line up 8 with 4 mins to go that nobody will remember now. A field goal puts you up 11 🤷🏾‍♂️. The games over.

[@greatslambino]

They HAD to throw for most of those 6 plays you people keep referencing. The first play of each of those two drives out them in 2nd and 3rd and long due to a penalty and a bad decision by Purdy. No shit they didn’t run the ball in those 3 and outs.

[@Tomtoe.24]

If Kyle wants it done his way... he should be the offensive and defensive coordinator. Horrible.

[@colec.4951]

That's what I said cause if u watch the games he was always Second guessing Wilks calls so Wilks never really ran his own style defense

[@forthesnowflakes7691]

Wilks the scapegoat? Maybe not but never the less Kyle is hiding behind this firing. Just like Kyle threw the analytics team under the bus in the presser for his OT decision, Kyle is hiding from his own accountability to which I heard none from him in the presser. In fact, Kyle reframed the label that HE couldn't win a big game as the Niners can't win a big game - No bro, it's you. Even some players have started pointing at each other when Kyle could simply just say 5 words "this loss is on me" because it is on him when the defense, as bad as they are, held Packers, Lions and the Chiefs to low scores while the offense barely scoring a few TDs. That's one hell of an ego to do such things after choking again.

[@blindthief]

Even if he takes accountability what difference would it make? It's not like he can or will improve. He's an average coach and always will be.

[@coreyburgh5831]

No when you defensive rankings get worse when your defensive personnel gets better, it's on the DC. It wasn't even that Wilkes is terrible DC, but he just didn't fit it

[@ryanm6087]

@@coreyburgh5831finally someone who gets it. D line was significantly better this year and they were worse statistically. Kyle wasted time outs on defense this year more than years past.

[@leocriss4385]

Yards per game and points per game improved, dropped to 7th in sacks as opposed to 3rd last year, but jumped to 1st in interceptions, not sure what you’re referencing, but the defense overall dropped by 1 spot from last year despite having better numbers.

[@jtfike]

Coach gets credit when they win. He gets blame when they lose. He gets to decide who works for him. If Wilks was as good as everyone claims, then he will be employed again very soon. This who,e discussion is a giant nothing burger.

[@johnmassoud930]

Bad idea. Wilks did a pretty good job, and while losing sucks, one can't fire a valuable member of your staff because they lose to Patrick Mahomes.

[@urusledge]

If anything the special teams coordinator should be gone. Botched snap leads to low kick for a blocked PAT and a punt return bounces off your own guy to give them a guaranteed three point minimum… that’s a 4 point swing in a game that went to overtime.

[@zzxmookysxzz4103]

I believe more players played than just Patrick.

[@byronsmith3152]

No it was a good firing. His job was on the line when they went into their bye week. He had been bad. He took a better roster this year and made them worse over all. The SB was just the icing on the cake. I think he would have still been fired.

[@letsinvestigateit]

he ws bad most of the year including the playoffs with all star defensive players

[@555calex]

He lost not to Mahomes but to a counterpart that is wiser, HC Reid. HC Reid help develop Mahomes and is one of the best if not the best Schemer of an NFL offense in the game. He outwitted the SF defense in overtime... SF had their chance and couldn't put the ball in the endzone...

[@memphisjag2161]

This is straight up scapegoating. The defense came to play while the offense couldn’t move the ball

[@MikeSmith-nb9dp]

Everybody except Kyle himself knows what went wrong with ATL losing 28-3 lead, 49ers losing double digit lead, twice(to the same KC, last time in 4th quarter!). He will never win a SB, period!

[@Sky_Sovereign]

Calm down with that double-digit bs. It was only 10 points. Mahomes can and DID close that out. If it was like the 28-3 lead, THEN you can get on that mindset.

[@Malik-mw2ry]

​@@Sky_SovereignPlease have your mommy explain to you 10 points is a double digit lead. I have faith that she knows

[@JerryHaoNguyen]

@@Sky_Sovereign10 points is double digit

[@KingPolo985]

18.8 PPG 4th in NFL 98.7 RUSH YPG 5th in NFL 221.1 PASS YPG 14th in NFL 1.7 TAKEAWAYS PG 4th in NFL 303.4 YPG 8th in NFL In no way should this man have been fired

[@fergusonDJ]

Check out the 3rd conversion rate it was like 47 percent, the defense was not the same from 2022, it felt so different

[@KingPolo985]

@@fergusonDJ they gave up 5.5 3rd down conversions a game this season . In 2022 they gave up 5.1 3rd down conversions a game. Teams converted 42.47% compared to 38.70% in 2022. There obviously was a drop off this season but no reason to get him fired after one year

[@tripham1982]

You guys needed that Raiders defense. Kyle Shanahan is not a leader of men. He doesn't get his team fired up

[@byronsmith3152]

When the nIners were #1 in almost every defensive category last year and they improved their roster? Yeah, he deserves to be fired. They were calling for his head during the bye week. I swear people have no clue about what they are talkin about.

[@byronsmith3152]

@MaineAndre Yes it is. How do you get worse with better talent?

[@Jonesocinco]

Why are people pretending that this chiefs offense were putting up points like they did 4 years ago?

[@tookieredd4190]

Still won the Super Bowl back to back 😅😅😅

[@erikdayne5429]

They averaged over 23 points in their other playoff games playing outdoors in Kansas City Buffalo and Baltimore. The 49ers defense held them to 19 playing in a dome.

[@irlshinigami4390]

Probably bc they were below their average for the playoffs in points scored in the super bowl. The only team that held them to under 20 in regulation was the Ravens and they only held them to 2 points less. How about score more than one TD with the most loaded offense in football?

[@irishspagetti6565]

two words: Tyreek Hill, he made that whole offense explosive just by his presence alone

[@Enoc63]

The chiefs have evolved. They are finding ways to win games in any way now. But just a friendly reminder, this has been the worst receiving core Mahomes will have in a very long time and they still won the Super Bowl. Get used to them winning :)

[@waltervanrooyen6169]

The dude on the right sounds like a niners fan. What he's saying is exactly how I feel. This is much more than the superbowl. The struggles during the playoffs were GLARING

[@my98-ot7jj]

Shanahan Sucks 😅😅😅

[@riotafoya]

All I see is Kyle refusing to acknowledge his mistakes in the SB 👎

[@lawrencequiroz6811]

RT On 👍✌️

[@josephgonsalves8579]

He lost to the greatest QB to ever play football,,, twice. Wilkes was getting fired even if they won.

[@AlfonzeBear]

the greatest QB that only scored 12 in a half... yet 9ers couldn't take advantage @@josephgonsalves8579

[@nicstone3141]

the greatest QB had 12 pts before the punt fiasco @@josephgonsalves8579

[@Haaaveeyy]

Scapegoated! His defense played well.

[@kannon0216]

He made a lot of mistakes throughout the season. He called a Cover 0 during the Super Bowl that Kyle used a Time Out to adjust. The Vikings example was literally the same thing. Just because the end result was good doesn't mean there weren't poor decisions along the way.

[@adamant5550]

@@kannon0216 Bro, his defense held Mahomes to 3 points through 3 quarters. Shanahan's offense lost them that game.

[@kannon0216]

​@@adamant5550 Well, 13 points through 3 Quarters. It was a collapse all around. They should have been up 21-3 at halftime. But they also needed to stop Mahomes on those final drives. Everyone is at fault. Even Wilkes. You don't call Cover 0 on 3rd and longs.

[@agardo_8582]

Niner fans will argue that it’s all wilks fault

[@theblinkerx]

Scapegoated lol the run defense went from 1 to 26th in his tenure & he gave up 4 straight possessions in which the Chiefs scored

[@tbay]

The entire 9er team blew that game, that's Shanahan.

[@omenriver2399]

Firing the DC is such a college coach thing to do to cover their asses.

[@mefirst2576]

So who does he blame for failing to score??

[@TheBieberbe1iber]

Against the best defense in the league? Kyle did a solid job Steve wilks was going up against one of the weakest KC defense. Defending short passes was where he struggled the most all year

[@Malik-mw2ry]

​@@TheBieberbe1ibertypical Bieberesque argument lol. Kansas City had the fifth best rated defense after #1 Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, and Dallas Cowboys

[@wezzman1]

​@@TheBieberbe1ibertypical, blame everyone else. The season is mot in a bubble, if you gonna blame the DC Shanahan needs to take blame to .....for such a genius he forgets the OT rules 😂

[@dretseljohnson5166]

Kyle Shanahan had to do something /The heat was on 🔥 the 49ers had this game in the 🛍️ Bag and Blew it Big Time!

[@dr.jesusmiranda8113]

The alleged genius is 0-3 in the Super Bowl.

[@jamesjackson2117]

He did lose all 3 to the best 2 QBs to ever play

[@disqusrubbish5467]

Reminds me of something Madden once said (paraphrased). "You win a Super Bowl and everyone says you're a genius. You're not a genius. Your best class in school was recess, and then you majored in PE."

[@frefai]

He's only been to 2 SBs

[@ericwalker427]

​@@frefaiyeah as a HC but 3 all together. He was the OC of the Falcons that blew a 28 to 3 lead against Brady and the Pats

[@frefai]

@@ericwalker427 so? Blowing a 25 point lead sounds like a bad DC and HC. Never heard of an OC being in charge of the defense

[@aarondonald1611]

Are media people scared of just being real about Kyle? It's so weird

[@brianhenry7983]

It's because then they would mean broke purdy gets more credit when all year they said it's because of Kyle shannahan not purdy, when it's almost all purdy who got them there

[@hrebec97]

Sounds like a desperate move for a coach who is going to be evaluated for not winning a Super Bowl. Year 9 next year. Only NFL coach to last ten years and not win a championship is Bud Grant of Minnesota.

[@jtfike]

Marvin Lewis….steve Fischer….is today make up fake facts day?

[@ryanm6087]

Maybe you should check your research.

[@Rhaspun]

Fact check yourself.

[@WinNeverLosee]

I said it last year when they lost to the eagles….. KS was evading accountability. Brock Purdy got hurt because you decided to put a backup TE against Hassan Reddick….. He’ll never win as a head coach with this mentality

[@t.k.1319]

Replace Wilks with Vrable. Wilks called too many un-disguised cover-zero blitzes. At the same time, it is not Steve Wilkes’s fault that Christian McCaffrey fumbled, that they muffed a punt, that the 49ers had FOUR false start penalties, or that NO ONE felt like blocking Chris Jones.

[@ronherrera8327]

I hope you noticed the uncalled holding that the Chiefs committed on the 49ers defense watch the film

[@Blkknowledge70]

Does anyone else see that the blk dude seems to be over defending the firing of Wilks? It’s not a balanced take at all. Just seems odd 🤔

[@greglyon1402]

I agree. Think Vrable would be a good choice. But Shanahan would be looking over his shoulder. Vrable would probably want asst head coach title.

[@anthonyambrose479]

Chris Jones is the Best at his position

[@herrguru4264]

my problem is... Kyle Shanahan is viewed as *"Offensive Guru".* 1. *In the last 3 Superbowls in which he was the "Offensive Guru", his team averaged 3 disgusting points in the 4th Quarter.* 2. In the last 3 Superbowls in which he was the "Offensive Guru", a) *his team scored ZERO points in the 4th quarter of the 2017 Superbowl.* b) *his team scored 0.000 points in the 4th quarter of the 2020 Superbowl.* c) *his team scored 9 points in the 4th quarter of the 2024 Superbowl.* 3. *In the last 3 Superbowls in which he was the "Offensive Guru", he had double digit leads and he blew all of them leads.* But he is not getting fired, instead... he is scapegoating the DC. Everyone is getting fired except him.

[@emery2310]

The ultimate CYA move. Kyle is officially on the Hot Seat..

[@legitdragon6202]

Yeah I posted before the playoffs does Kyle go on hot seat if they don't get it done this year? And people were acting like I was nuts 😂

[@therealgoat98]

I believe he had the lead in the 4th and In OT. Steve needed to make a stop and failed. You wanna blame his offense for not scoring much then look up steve spagnuola’s name. The defense underperformed all season long. Wilks was given the #1 run defense and let it drop to #26. He let the packers run all over us and the lions give us a scare. I’m glad he’s gone

[@byronsmith3152]

@@therealgoat98 Don't forget the Cardinals game where his defense gave up 260 yards rushing as well. Or how about the Minny and Cincy game where those teams only punted one time each ALL GAME!

[@therealgoat98]

@@byronsmith3152 bingo!!!!

[@Malik-mw2ry]

​@@therealgoat98San Francisco's defense held the Chiefs to two touchdowns in the entire game - ZERO IN THE FIRST HALF!. WHERE WAS THE OFFENSE & SUPERBOY BROCK PURDY?

[@209AndrewFigueroa]

I remember when sports analysts used to be better.

[@TranslateToEnglish]

The game wasn’t lost by the niners defense. The game was lost on offense. The third down play selection was idiotic. Against the blitze you should have called short, quick passes. From the KC 10 yard line, how about blocking Chris Jones. He had a clear path to the QB. How about the kicker missing an extra point? Does the kicker still have his job? Wilks will find work, no doubt about it.

[@555calex]

Thank you! In fact thank you for stating the facts! The Niners had the opportunity and didn't performed when needed on offense to put the ball in the endzone which is all you can asked of a defense playing against the former SB Champs. They were not playing against newcomers...

[@kenbattor6350]

I love the smell of panic in the morning

[@notHailey]

Worth mentioning, it's 19 points if you're including the punt->fumble that gave a short field and touchdown. It's 12 points without that. 12. This firing is a scapegoat, plain and simple. Edit: also, Bosa had contain on the read option. That's on him. He needs to take responsibility. What a shameful display.

[@TheWiseguysTCG]

I’m a diehard lifelong 30 year old chiefs fan This is the 49ers finding a scapegoat. His defense allowed 1 real td, 1 one bc special teams messed up, and Kyle 💩 the bed. They won’t be back imo. Foundational issue

[@Mawin69]

It's the whole damn season, offense bailed out the defense this whole season. Not just one damn game. Anyone who watched the team this year from last year knows Wilks caused a downgrade, and the worst part was they actually got better players on defense. Stop acting like you watched the games all season.

[@byronsmith3152]

He was not fired just because the SB. Just stop. He was bad all year long with his scheme.

[@TheWiseguysTCG]

@@byronsmith3152 Oh you tell us bums I’m sorry can’t hear you over my ears RINGING 💍 No wonder we own all of you. Excuses

[@byronsmith3152]

@@TheWiseguysTCG LOL. Typical ignorant fan right here. Your feelings have no facts to back them up. Keep moving along kid.

[@TheWiseguysTCG]

@@byronsmith3152 keep it moving, comments under my comment. Gotcha. Sheesh stop talking lol

[@germant5379]

Seems the decision was already made but kept it a secret to not distract the team prior to the SB. Just sucks that now the guy is late to the process of finding a new job.

[@vangarang3667]

They were a top 10 defense due to the sheer amount of talent. Not because of cohesion or teamwork. This defense was not the same with Wilks. At midseason there were talks about firing Wilks.

[@Malik-mw2ry]

San Francisco - home of the deflections and excuses

[@xionxxx3359]

Yeah it wasn’t the same it was better so just stfu. The stats say Wilkes defense was better this season then last years team in every statistical category. Yall head coach is the issue not Wilkes.

[@Malik-mw2ry]

I'm interested in your response to xionxxx's facts

[@vangarang3667]

@@Malik-mw2ry What facts? I agree Kyle cost the 49ers two super bowls.

[@Malik-mw2ry]

@@vangarang3667 your comment faulted Wilkes did it not? You didn't even mention Kyle only Wilkes.

[@disqusrubbish5467]

"Oh look - a squirrel!" This takes heat off Shanahan and his offense. Take a look at Kurt Warner's breakdown of the 49ers offense during that game. Count how many times he says "I don't know what they're trying to do." Play calls where receivers have poor assignments, plays where if receivers had run their route to completion there would have been better openings for Purdy, plays where blocking breaks down and no hot available... All of that is on the OC - which is essentially Shanahan. The SF players played pretty well, but the team was outcoached.

[@MuzacMark1960]

Wow, the defense played great, you fired a coach after going to the superbowl?

[@byronsmith3152]

The defense was far from great all year. The SB was just the icing on the cake.

[@MrKwatts27]

@@byronsmith3152But he held the great Mahomes to 19 points bro and the offense, which Kyle runs couldn’t score💀

[@byronsmith3152]

@@MrKwatts27 The great Mahomes offenses averaged 21.8 ppg this year. That means they were not very good. So stop with they held them to 19. When the game was on the line, and the Niners had the lead TWICE, his scheme failed. Kyle is to blame IMO but WIlkes failed as well when it mattered most.

[@feleciahouston6653]

@@byronsmith3152 absolutely disagree. The HC always has the option to override a DC’s call. The issue is not the defense. The issue is why can’t/didn’t the 49ers score when it mattered? This is soley on Kyle and the guy is known to consistently come up short when it matters. I gave him a break when he blew the lead in Atlanta to Tom Brady…but Mahomes is in NO WAY TB12. He should’ve fired himself. He’s a coward.

[@byronsmith3152]

@@feleciahouston6653 While I agree the SB was lost in the 3rd quarter because of Kyle's terrible play calling, Wilkes still choked at the end of the 4th and in OT. The offense gave him the lead twice and twice he went to a soft zone defense that allowed Mahomes to march right down the field. The HC did over rule him in OT because he hated what Wilkes was calling, hence the TO. Now with that said, Wilkes issues as a DC go beyond this one game. He was not good for most of the year. There were calls for him to be fired during the Niners bye week. His schemes failed at stopping the run, something the Niners were the best at last year. His defense failed to generate pressures and sacks. The Niners defense is built from the front 7 back. Wilkes is a DB specialist who focused on getting the secondary better, which he did to be fair. But the way he did cost the Niners defense too much. So while he was calling a fantastic game in the SB, for most of the game, he just had too many issues throughout the year.

[@teehud313]

I've has weird vibes about the Shanihans dating back from those Washington days

[@shadowofcallisto1560]

I think you could get the vibe all season Shanahan didn’t get along well with or trust Steve Wilks. Doesn’t make it right to scapegoat wilks for the loss if that’s really the case. But I think they just didn’t mesh well from the start.

[@panamericachicago]

Best offensive play was a touchdown pass thrown by a wide reciever...

[@aopr6701]

Right, a trick play that almost went bad...the blame game hurts more than the loss.

[@tobi_versace]

Yall forgetting how bad the defense was when they had to make Wilks come down from the booth and actually connect with his players? The Niners have the most loaded D line in history and couldn't buy a sack all year.

[@marcm6638]

And they don’t have a loaded offense? You can point out all these different things on defense but you can say the same about their offense. Is anyone from their offense being terminated? That is the point…

[@my98-ot7jj]

😅😅😅😅😅😅😅

[@wezzman1]

How bad was Shanahan at the Falcons, the second SB and not knowing the OT rules. Scapegoat is a scapegoat.

[@WW3_Soon]

Shanahan needed a scapegoat to blame for the devastating loss and the DC Wilks was fired.

[@Melia_67]

Why is Florio pretending that the Chiefs offense was lighting up score boards the whole season?

[@terrancehall9762]

They still held them to 19 points.

[@BePatientSeeLove]

​@@terrancehall9762Alot of people acting like the chiefs aren't a talented offense while they won the Superbowl🙄. Too me this is Kyle's fault he needs an offensive coordinator

[@terrancehall9762]

@@BePatientSeeLove all of this

[@bruceneeley1724]

The 49ers played a great game... This firing will cement the odds against them to not even appear in #59. Bad move... Wilks is a scapegoat for poor overtime management by coach Shanahan.

[@tristanscipio]

Nothing like Scapegoating a black coach suing the NFL for racist hiring practices who held the best QB in the league to 19 points scoring in regulation. My question would be would you still fire him if you won the Superbowl?

[@strawberryreacts9585]

This has nothing to do with race and more to do with he didn't fit what they wanted to do. They have tons of black coaches, in fact they get a ton compensatory picks because their black coaches get hired as head coaches elsewhere (i.e. Saleh, Ryans, etc)

[@markb3786]

I'm a Chiefs fan, but the Niners are the leader in minority hiring. Other teams are mad because the Niners get more compensatory draft picks than other teams.

[@Daniel_Capital]

Bosa was awful and should take responsibility. He kept letting mahomes get outside to his right hand, the one thing you can’t let him do. Then on the 4th down, who do you think the chiefs are going to with the world championship on the line? And bosa chases the RB going in the opposite direction. If he goes all out straight to mahomes like anyone with a brain, niners win it on that play

[@danelum2360]

True 49er fans know. It’s all the football fans who watched from the outside and focus on the superbowl who question it. You go from a top 5 defense since 2019 to an overall 12th in one year

[@FALCONSMAN23]

It’ll be even worse next season lol

[@shanelljones1091]

Then why wait until after the Super Bowl to fire him? The defense was really good in the biggest game of the year against the best QB in the league. Kyle's offense was stale in the 2nd half and it's his fault y'all lost that game. Even if you don't always agree with the defensive calls, Wilkes is clearly the scapegoat for the way things ended.

[@msp5138]

True football fans know the 49ers defense was ranked #3, not #12, in total defense for 2023. And their rushing defense went from #17 in 2019 to #3 in 2023. The passing defense regressed but that is because the front 4 was not as good (hence, trade for Chase Young).

[@scottcurtis001]

​@msp5138 it's ok to say you're not a niners fan and you are just commenting to comment.

[@kevinshasky6638]

Total BS 🤡

[@bwayne6]

Their relationship wasn't good. Bosa is rumored as one who hated the scheme. And there were plays where the defense was horrible. On the winning touchdown no one was on Hardman. He was just standing there waiting for the ball.

[@my98-ot7jj]

Shanahan Sucks 😅😅😅😅

[@cmagnusnorthfleet981]

There's nothing weird or strange about this. It's as transparent as a sheet of glass. Shanahan threw Wilkes under the bus to save his own sorry ass. It's that simple. It wasn't the defense the loss the game it was the same ole idiotic bullshit Shanahan has been doing his whole career. There might even be an element of something else at work here if you take my meaning.

[@marcelo1458]

First he threw the analytics department under the bus and subsequently Wilks. A few heads had to roll for the Nepobaby-in-chief.

[@theblinkerx]

The defense did lose the game? The last two time the Niners had the ball they left with the lead. The last 4 TIMES the chiefs had the ball they scored points. How is that not on the defense

[@Az-dc4nu]

Its hard to believe the next def. coordinator will hold the Chiefs to 3 points at halftime in a SB

[@taylenzz]

The rebuttal to the argument is crap when you have to bring up individual plays in a 17-game season…….🙄🙄🙄

[@ltahoe7195]

For those people that are not 49er fans and don't watch their games you guys are kind of clueless. Honestly speaking even if the 49ers had held on in and won the super bowl Wilks probably would have still been let go. Their defense regressed during the year, it was obvious as hell !!!

[@budwest9385]

Sooo you saved your ass Shame on you.

[@bluet1397]

Let’s just be honest Steve Wilkes did nothing to be fired they just needed someone to put the blame on Because the only side of the ball that didn’t get the job done was the offense 💯

[@vizknight1862]

Basically, Kyle is saying that because of the Defensive struggles all year long and Steve scheme did not do enough and cost us the SB. Yet, with all the bumps in road they got their and held Patrick Mahomes to 19 points for 60 mins. Giving Kyle a chance to run away with the game and win a SB. This is the same DC, where he defense picked off Jordan love for game winner and where the lions Feel apart and the Defense took advantage and help the offense get back on track to win that game. How much more Does Kyle need from him? When is Kyle going to admit he is failure and even with the lead he still can't not get the job done. 2016 - 25 point lead, 2019 - 17 point lead, 2024 10 point lead. Both 2019 and 2024 we leads against the best QB in the NFL. Kyle is the problem and SF needs to admit that.

[@micahkiyimba8641]

They gave up 26 ppg in the playoffs. Only the Lions gave up a bigger average, I think

[@vizknight1862]

​@micahkiyimba8641 Kyle's offense didn't do any better to take a larger lead. It on him to take advantage of other teams struggling offense.

[@mefirst2576]

So you don’t know the rules either Florio!! That was 1st down and there is no time limit to their first possession in overtime!!

[@chalkywhitelll8448]

I hate Nick Bosa even more now

[@pjny21]

Seriously! If anybody threw the game it was the DE who was tackling Pacheco near the complete opposite sideline from where the ball was. lmao

[@bobbykiriakidis9753]

Irrational “knee jerk” reaction to losing the big game. Purdy could have completed that 3rd and short and then milk the clock, kick the FG and you win. He will back slide with this team.

[@justified004]

It wasn't a knee jersey reaction. They explained it perfectly. Wilkes was almost fired mid-season and was forced out of the press box because of it. Ignore the stats and SB loss because this defense regressed not just from last year but also during this year. The worst part is the defense got better on paper this year and even traded for more pieces to go with that $100M D line.

[@nickt2193]

Shanahan and McVay are oddly similar. Both come across as genuine guys, but will never hesitate to throw someone under the bus as a sacrificial lamb while deflecting any responsibility on himself.

[@jorgeretamal8106]

that guy Florio "you become HD, because you've made a great as a offensive coordinator". And what is that? Blwoing up the most notorious lead in SB history (25-point blown lead as Falcons OC)? WTF is he talking about!!

[@HendersonHinchfinch]

They obviously weren’t on the same page all year. After Wilks zero blitz call right before halftime against the Vikings Florio was saying the same thing. Then the dude does the same thing in the Superbowl! Dude has no situational awareness it seems. Not surprised at all by the firing

[@davidporter7051]

nothing to do with situational awareness. Wilks isn't a fit into the current 49ers staff and personnel.

[@msp5138]

@@davidporter7051 "fit" always means, he ain't white. defense was #3 in the NFL this years.

[@davidporter7051]

@@msp5138 only a mouth breather infers race. I'm sure the 9ers staff are willing to lose multimillion dollars because of race.

[@davidporter7051]

@@msp5138 what about the two previous coordinators? Both are people of color.

[@HendersonHinchfinch]

@@msp5138 that’s a bunch of BS

[@PeaceFan1]

HELLLOOOO Kyle; Fire the OL Coach who didn't have either the Guard or Tackle Block CHRIS JONES on that 3rd and 4 which Cost us the Damn GAME!!!!!!! WTHELL!!!

[@natet7695]

He was getting fired even if they won the SB. He is not a good fit for the defense.

[@bengibson8667]

I mean the way I saw it was Kyle was not happy with Wilks pretty much all season but for sure wasn't going to fire him while in mid-season. I swear some of these people don't even care what the truth is!

[@larrymac1700]

This sucks,Steve is a good coach and better man!

[@B.Piercesports]

When a man chokes off 3 superbowls i lose repect for you. I know they were vs 2 all time goats but you gotta get 2 of them.

[@b-rad3681]

We all knew Florio would be all over this lol

[@josefperry3836]

Wilks did a surprisingly good job confusing Mahomes through most of the Super Bowl. The Chiefs were held to 3 points in the first half. Mahomes was sacked three times because he had no one to throw the ball to. And the interception he threw was to a Kelce surrounded by five 49ers. The two KC touchdowns, however, were obvious coverage mistakes by the 49ers.

[@rudolphpieters7918]

The defense was the best unit in that game. It was weird to 🔥 the Defensive Coordinator.

[@edward2497]

Bosa hates wilks

[@bea6le]

LOL. Spag's key was the CBs to beat the 49ers passing game ... Who is the bad coach?

[@byronsmith3152]

And yet Spags had to change his game plan because Purdy was beating them, lol. The problem is still with Kyle though because he failed to change course in the 3rd quarter, which wore out the Niners defense. Then factor in Wilks changing his scheme to prevent in the 4th quarter for no reason at all.

[@Relentlezz41]

Spags really taught Sneed and McDuffie to look like Pro Bowl caliber. They were quite a Duo this season

[@dillchives]

​@@byronsmith3152He didn't change the game plan because Purdy was lighting them up, he saw the one or two throws he was capable of completing and shut them down. Then he started bringing blitzes and Purdy couldn't handle any of them.

[@MatthewBretton-cu2el]

60% completion , most behind the line to a MVP candidate is now lighting up a defence lmao, with 250 passing yards Hahaha.... I guess Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson went nuclear

[@mjulio71]

Everybody focusing on the Super Bowl ONLY, that's what makes this move look bad. Throughout the entire season it was obvious the D was not the same as in recent years. Steve Wilks has been in the league for quite some time - He's certainly not bad, I don't know if he might be great. But it was obvious he was a wrong choice from the start. Everyone criticizing Shanahan, there's also a level of fault on Wilks' part: If he wasn't familiar with the defensive scheme and HE knew it, why take the job? Money only?

[@dailycompanion2427]

This opens the door for Belechick to slide in

[@tobi_versace]

Wilks had nothing to do with the defenses performance in the SB. That was shear willpower from the players. The defense has been bad all year. The numbers don't tell the real story.

[@msp5138]

If the defense was bad how did they get to the SB? If the defense was bad and ranked #3, what does that say about the rest of the NFL If the defense was bad at #3, does that mean Chiefs defense was also bad at #2

[@scottcurtis001]

​@msp5138 You are not a niners fan are you?

[@brob8204]

With all this other pub around the Super Bowl, the one guy who is not getting enough attention is Spagnola. Spags should make the HOF. He really should. As a defensive coordinator, he has 4 Super Bowl rings. The problem is, we should call 'coordinators' what most are, the associate head coach, or head coach of the defense/offense. As a coach, the man has 4 Super Bowl rings. He should make the Hall.

[@3putt548]

They are using Wilkes as a scapegoat goat. The fall guy!

[@michaelparrish6093]

It doesn't "feel weird" if you watched every 49ers game this season. This would've happened even if SF won it all in my opinion. It SHOULD have happened. Right call.

[@marcemarc6516]

It doesn’t feel weird at all, he was calling cover zero and it was so obvious Kyle had to use a time out because they were going to get burnt for a TD

[@Me-gy7yk]

When the offense doesn't work, fire the DC. Makes sense... In soccer if a team doesn't deliver the expected results, the coach is fired or resigns. In the NFL, coaches who fail too often scapegoat an underling.

[@JamesBond-jd8xo]

Shanahan likes to blame coaches, players, but not him. Hasn’t learned from last superbowl with jimmy g, after that loss he traded jimmy g and Trey lance. But picked up unknown quarterback. He needs to go, but John lynch will not fire shanahan, because of the Bay Area connections.

[@wlane2384]

Nick "I blew my assignments" Bosa talking about unprepared. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@t.k.1319]

He kept calling cover zero blitzes that weren’t disguised at all. He got gashed on every one of them, but kept calling it. At least Spags disguised his blitzes. Replace Wilks with Vrable.

[@t.k.1319]

At the same time, it is not Steve Wilkes’s fault that Christian McCaffrey fumbled, that they muffed a punt, that the 49ers had FOUR false start penalties, or that NO ONE felt like blocking Chris Jones.

[@smoove2432]

He didnt keep calling it. He got gashed once. He called it again knowing what Maholmes and Andy Reid answer is too it. We dont know if they were coming or not. The fact is his unit came ready to perform while Kyles didn't.

[@eastgate6134]

You can't disguise a defense for mahomes. You cant blitz him.The defense made sense but mahomes is just GOATED

[@SamsP.O.V-hd7rb]

So Kyle has zero fault?

[@wonellwesley4379]

Kyle Shanny is a big liar and it’s gonna come back to hunt him, he’s a bum

[@fredtheveteran4623]

This DC held Patrick Mahomes to 19 points in 4 quarters! Kyle Shanahan lost this game with his horrible play calling

[@gldnone]

Weird they hired Wilks and wouldn't let him put his system in place. If special teams doesn't crap the bed, Niners are probably champs. Hate it for Wilks.... hopefully he finds a landing spot.

[@CapeCodPhilip]

Defensive players need to train for endurance and have enough gas in the tank for five quarters.

[@jamesnguyen7069]

esp after 40 min halftime. lol

[@legitdragon6202]

They were out of breath from whining about their practice field before the game 😂

[@TerMa354]

Shanahan should have been the one to be fired not Wilkes. He is lucky to be the head coach of SF.

[@urusledge]

If anything the special teams coordinator should be gone. Botched snap leads to low kick for a blocked PAT and a punt return bounces off your own guy to give them a guaranteed three point minimum… that’s a 4 point swing in a game that went to overtime.

[@Mawin69]

Why the fuck do people only think this relates to the damn Superbowl. Niners defense took a step back with Wilks all season, to the point Wilks was pulled from the damn booth. Anyone who watched the games all season saw the offense carrying the team this season. Look at the first 2 playoff games.

[@msp5138]

The finished #3 in total defense in 2023... Look at how poorly the SF offense played in first half of 2 playoff games And how great the defense played in the second half of 2 playoff games

[@justhewaves]

What a joke. The problem is at the head coaching position. Shanahan is a coordinator and not a leader. The Niners were on the road to blowout losses TWICE and scraped by due to the obvious failures of their opponent. The narrative would be quite different had the Packers finished the job in the divisional round. This is just buying time before his inevitable firing.

[@lilbrother45]

This is nothing but deflection by Kyle. He’s deflecting from his clown coaching. He’s a choke artist and he knows it.

[@zeusnair265]

He should fire himself as Offensive Coordinator because that’s why my Niners lost the Super Bowl

[@morsumbra9692]

Poor Wilks. Has been the fall guy now for the Cardinals. The Panthers. And now the 49ers. Was completely Shanahan and the offense's fault. Wilks for HC!