49ers hire Wilks to replace Ryans
New coordinator served as Panthers’ interim head coach
Steve Wilks didn’t get the job he coveted this offseason, but the longtime NFL defensive coach landed a decent gig: He’ll oversee a loaded defense that was the league’s best in 2022 and had a first-team All-Pro at every level.
The San Francisco 49ers hired Wilks, 53, as their defensive coordinator Tuesday to replace DeMeco Ryans, who became the Texans’ head coach last week.
Wilks, a 15-year NFL veteran who was the Cardinals’ head coach in 2018, arrives in Santa Clara after an eye-opening performance in 2022 as Carolina’s interim head coach. He inherited a 1-4 team after Matt Rhule was fired and led the stripped-down Panthers, whose housecleaning included the trade of All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers in October, to a 6-6 finish.
Wilks, a Charlotte native who had two stints with the Panthers spanning seven seasons, was passed over the full-time job, which went to former Indianapolis head coach Frank Reich. And that set the stage for Wilks’ union with the 49ers, who provided a job that could make him a head-coach candidate as soon as next year’s hiring cycle.
Wilks will oversee a unit that ranked among the NFL’s top three in total defense the past three seasons and includes pass rusher Nick Bosa, linebacker Fred Warner and safety Talanoa Hufanga, all of whom earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2022. The 49ers went 13-4 and reached the NFC Championship Game with heavy lifting from a defense that allowed the fewest points and yards in the NFL.
Wilks, the defensive coordinator with the Panthers (2017) and Browns (2019), has what was viewed as a major criterion for the opening: He runs a 4-3 de
“Playing the same system, over and over and over again ... for sure helps develop guys quicker. And helps them play at a higher level.” Fred Warner, 49ers linebacker, on the team’s 4-3 defense
fense, a scheme that has been employed successfully for the 49ers under Ryans (2021-2022) and Robert Saleh (2017-2020), now the Jets’ head coach.
Last week, head coach Kyle Shanahan stressed continuity when asked about replacing Ryans.
“I love the scheme that we run,” Shanahan said, “and I feel the foundation we have on the Dline, 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.”
Warner struck the same note last week and acknowledged he’d discussed the pending coordinator hire with Shanahan.
“We obviously still want to be able to run what we run,” Warner said. “That’s what we’ve done for a long time. … Playing the same system, over and over and over again — not having to learn a new scheme every year like some teams do — it for sure helps develop guys quicker. And helps them play at a higher level.”
Wilks, a defensive back at Appalachian State, began last season as the Panthers’ defensive passing-game coordinator and secondary coach. He’d served as an NFL secondary coach for 10 seasons and his expertise in that area could be why the 49ers reportedly allowed secondary coach Cory Undlin’s contract to expire after two seasons.
Wilks went 3-13 as the Cardinals’ head coach in 2018. The Panthers ranked seventh in total defense when he was their defensive coordinator in 2017 and the Browns were 22nd under Wilks in 2019.
His most impressive work might have come last season in his interim role with the Panthers. Wilks, via Twitter, acknowledged he was disappointed he didn’t earn a promotion while congratulating Reich in late January.
“The sun rose this morning and by the grace of God so did I,” Wilks said. “I’m disappointed but not defeated. Many people aren’t built for this but I know what it means to persevere and see it through.”
The 49ers netted third-round picks when Ryans and Saleh became head coaches because of the NFL’s program that rewards team for developing minority coaches. Even though Wilks owns head-coaching experience, they also will receive draft-pick compensation if he becomes a head coach after spending at least two seasons with the 49ers.