49ers Fire DC Steve Wilks Three Days After Super Bowl LVIII Loss

The 49ers are making a major shakeup on defense.

The San Francisco 49ers are making a significant change to the coaching staff following the Super Bowl LVIII loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

Kyle Shanahan announced to reporters in a conference call on Wednesday, just three days after the defeat, that the 49ers and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks would be parting ways.

“It just ended up not being the right fit,” said Shanahan of the organization’s decision to fire Wilks. 

The 2023 NFL season was Wilks’s first as defensive coordinator in San Francisco, having replaced DeMeco Ryans, who was hired as the head coach of the Houston Texans.

Steve Wilks is out as San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator after the team’s Super Bowl LVIII loss to the Knasas City Chiefs :: Andy Lewis/IMAGO

The 49ers surrendered 18.8 points per game during the regular season, the fourth fewest in the league, and their 319.7 total yards per game surrendered was also a top 10 mark.

Despite a solid regular season, it seems the team’s performance in the Super Bowl was a factor in not re-upping with Wilks.

Following the loss, star defensive end Nick Bosa admitted San Francisco “could’ve been more prepared” for a pair of crucial read option plays during the Chiefs’ game-winning drive in overtime, per Eric Branch of The SF Chronicle. Both of those plays resulted in Patrick Mahomes picking up important first downs for Kansas City.

Additionally, Kyle Shanahan admitted after the game that he was forced to use a timeout in overtime because he “didn’t like the look [the defense was in].”

The 49ers will now begin the search for a new defensive coordinator, which will mark their fourth DC since 2020.