49ers' Wilks to call plays from sideline vs. Jags (2024)

San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks will move from upstairs in the coaching booth to the sideline beginning with Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know:

• Wilks is in his first season as the 49ers defensive coordinator, taking over after DeMeco Ryans was hired as the Houston Texans coach.
• In Shanahan’s seven seasons with San Francisco, Wilks became the first defensive coordinator to call plays from up in the booth.
• Both Robert Saleh, the New York Jets coach who served as the 49ers defensive coordinator from 2017 to 2020, and Ryans (2021-22) called plays from the sideline.

Why the change was made

The 49ers’ pass defense was horrifically bad over its two most recent games against the Vikings and Bengals, allowing Kirk Cousins and Joe Burrow to go a combined 63-of-77 for 661 yards against them. But the 49ers’ struggles extend beyond that. Their run defense, which finished No. 1 and No. 2 over the past two seasons under Ryans, now ranks No. 26.

Those struggles date back to the 49ers’ five-game win streak to begin the season, and they became much more apparent over the team’s three-game losing streak because the offense was no longer building huge leads to mask them.

Simply put, the 49ers’ defensive performance profile has been much different than it was pre-Wilks, and it was apparent exiting the Cincinnati game Shanahan would at least be taking a long, hard look at the unit over the bye. The result of that audit was this decision to move Wilks to the field. The next question: Will this help San Francisco set better edges against the run and be better positioned on the back end against quicker throws? — David Lombardi, 49ers staff writer

Fred Warner’s take on the change

Linebacker Fred Warner, who receives the defensive play calls, hadn’t heard Wilks was moving to the sideline and said it was “fresh news” for him. He said communication hadn’t been an issue this season. To this point, the plays have been going from Wilks through linebackers coach Johnny Holland on the sideline.

But Warner thought everyone could benefit from Wilks being on the sideline where predecessors Saleh and Ryans have operated in the past. Both men were prominent in cheering on and pumping up the defense in recent seasons. Being in the coaches’ booth has made Wilks seem more detached.

“I think more so than anything (the move is a result of) him just wanting to be down there as our leader of the group, making adjustments on the fly,” Warner said. “Looking us in the eye when we’re down there — I’m sure it’s little things like that.” — Matt Barrows, senior 49ers writer

What they’re saying

Shanahan said during the 49ers’ bye last week that he would discuss potentially having Wilks shift from the coaching booth to the sideline and confirmed Wednesday that Wilks would be making that move.

“I wanted him to be down and near our players,” Shanahan said. “That’s the way we’ve had it with the linebacker communication in the past.”

This move comes two weeks after Shanahan was openly critical of Wilks sending a zero blitz against Cousins with 16 seconds left in the second quarter of the 49ers’ Week 7 loss in Minnesota. The blitz did not work and Cousins connected with Jordan Addison on a 60-yard touchdown that gave the Vikings a 16-7 halftime lead.

“He knows he messed up on that call,” Shanahan said at the time of Wilks. “I have no problem with zero blitzes, especially when people need a lot of yards. If you need to get 20 yards to kick a field goal, I have no problem with a zero blitz. But I do when there’s 16 seconds left. That’s where he lost track. There was no necessary need for that just because of the time. I have no problem with that play call, but when it’s that time, you can’t do that. That’s not an option.”

Backstory

Wilks spent last season with the Carolina Panthers as their defensive passing game coordinator and then interim head coach.

San Francisco has lost three straight games. The team allowed a combined 852 yards in the past two losses to the Cincinnati Bengals and Minnesota Vikings. Previously, the 49ers allowed 334 yards in a loss to the Cleveland Browns and backup QB P.J. Walker.

Required reading

• Steve Wilks takes blitz blame as he readies the 49ers defense for the Bengals
• What’s wrong with the 49ers defense? Does Chase Young fix their issues?
• Kawakami: Should Steve Wilks be the 49ers’ scapegoat for this losing streak? No, at least not yet

(Photo: Michael Zagaris / Getty Images)