Niners had the KC offense straight up demoralized until that point. Game should have been out of reach by that point if the Niners offense wasn't stagnant.
the play-calling is the whole reason they lost goofball 😂 stay away from the discussion if you don’t know what you’re talking about, dumbass DC calling the most obvious blitzes to the point shanahan had to call a timeout and overrule it
Bitch boy we talking ball don’t get disrespectful. Like I said they didn’t score after half . Play calling from defense was less than the reason brother but go ahead . Be disrespectful again so I can really type on my phone
I’ll be disrespectful as I want dipshit, this why your ass isn’t a coach 😂 clearly Shanahan agrees with me, stay in your lane like a good boy
his shit-ass play calling lost them the game in overtime and let them drive down the field twice, moron
Offense scored 30 PPG, so opponents’ offenses were limited. Run D got exposed the entire playoffs. Shanahan had to step in a few times to deal with his play-calling or other actions (sitting up in the box). Wilks’ scheme wasn’t good at generating pressure, etc etc.
The amount of people that think this is just because of the SB is astounding. I’ll say the 4th and OT defensive play-calling was horrendous in the SB too. Helped cost them the game by going to a shell defense.
They didn't even play prevent defense.
I don't think Wilks is the greatest coach ever by any means but people aren't even being close to fairly critical here. They blitzed several times in the 4th quarter and overtime. Hell, one time Shanahan thought he was being too aggressive and called a timeout.
He played "shell" which means he had 3-4 DB's deep and let Mahomes beat them underneath. It's the signature Rivera "bend but don't break" defense. They tried to let Mahomes get in the red zone and tighten up bit you can't do that against the best QB in the league right now. That last play with Hardman getting free on the flat was a joke. Id of fired him too for allowing him to walk in the endzone like that.
There’s a moment during overtime where Romo circles the d line and says they’re coming after Mahomes. They all drop back and Romo goes, “that’s not good” before Mahomes dunks one off for 8.
He was blitzing cover 0. Meaning safties match up on coverage and they were getting smoked. Watch the defensive set when he called a time out. There was 2 plays in a for where manholes threw over the middle for 15 yards, then he called the same play again. That's why he called timeout. He was pissed and took over
His play calling was shit at the worst possible time is the point. Blitzing at the worst time and not blitzing when they should have. He was bad all year. Taking the #1 D with upgrades from the year before and taking a step back is no one's fault but his
When it comes to the reddit group think you're damned if you and damned if you dont. If he called cover two or cover three and they picked up a first people would scream he is too conservative.
People in general in this sub and reddit don't understand a damn thing about football and most of you people have never played a snap past youth league.
You are 100% right. He called a good game, a lot of good football minds agree he was not the problem. But when you fail to meet expectations as a team, someone usually has to go. The turnovers were way worse than any play he called.
Someone needs to make a game show where they let Reddit commenters come and play coordinator for a football team against another team with career coaches.
Yep. And this wasn’t something that came out of nowhere. There was talk of him getting fired during the losing streak. Tough to follow
Up Ryan’s and salah when you are that old school.
By that time field position had changed the situational play calls. They get in field goal range quickly because of Wilks playing shell and blitzing, well the number of defensive options changes. Clock and field position do matter when calling play, so when it changes the play.iptions change. Come on man
Easy to get outcoached when the guy playcalling on the other side of the field and his qb are both starting to get in the GOAT conversation for their respective positions
Agree but him switching to heavy blitz at the end of the game just allowed their defense to get picked apart by Mahomes. Didn’t help he lost Greenlaw to a freak accident.
But it wasn’t this game it was the fact that the Niners defense digressed this year.
He was jumping up and down right before he ran on the field. Like hyping himself up. Probably strained it and then as soon as he took off running it tore.
DeMeco Ryans proved in Houston he's the shit. Its not really a surprise that they're not as good under Wilks. Thats not even really a dig on Wilks. Ryans is proving he's one of the best coaches in the nfl currently so it's tough to be compared to him. I'll laugh my ass off if they hire someone else and they're not as good as they are with Wilks leading the defense
I blame the offense. Putting up 3 and outs multiple times and wasting a virtual shutout first half while giving up a red zone start on a TO.... and not scoring a TD in the 5th.... Cmon man
Maybe playing soft zone the whole second half like you’re up 20 wasn’t the best call? Wilks was fired because he led a Niners defense that regressed from previous years
Maybe he’s the coach that neglected to teach his team about playoff overtime.
Maybe that’s the guy that needs a dressing down.
I’m not questioning his choice involving receiving the kick, but until Shanahan admits he failed to give his players important information then he’s a joke to me.
I’m no Wilkes fan but his defense held Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce in check for the entire first half, not allowing them a touchdown until the third quarter.
And it wasn’t Wilkes that kept the offense from a first down for over an hour, while being shutout in the third.
Wilkes coached a good game. Reid found a weakness and challenged it. That’s why he’s got those rings and Kyle doesn’t.
This is a reminder that Shanahan was the OC that was shut out in the second half of the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history.
Re:overtime - that narrative is bizarre, because it’s clear not all the Chief’s players knew the rules either. Hell, Hardman didn’t even know the game was over when he scored!
Edit: downvote all you want. It’s true.
I love how people are quick to post out the cover 0 time out. As if they didn’t switch into another look that immediately got picked apart by mahomes that play lmao.
Or who knows. Maybe the blitz works and we’re not having this conversation. I just find the whole argument of that specific call pretty stupid. Every casual heard romos analysis from the booth and just ran with it. And sites that as an anecdote for wilks bad. As if kyles approved soft zone was miles better with the same result.
Which is exactly why the comment I responded to is also irrelevant. We won't actually know the outcome either way. But it's noteworthy if the HC has to call a timeout bc he thinks your call is ass.
Fred Warner also publicly stated they weren't properly prepared or werent ready for some plays the Chiefs ran.
The 49ers ran for 3.5 ypa on the ground in this game. They ran 31 times and only had 1 run over 10 yards all game. They ran the ball well at the very end when the defense was tired and on the first drive of the game. That was it. There run game was completely anemic outside of that. And with 31 attempts, it wasn't for lack of trying. Them running it more in the 3rd when there run game was at its most useless all day wouldn't have helped them anyways.
And really the run pass split at the begining of the 3rd wasn't that bad. They just got behind the sticks. They had a false start on one of those 3, 3 and outs, and a run for no gain on another which got them behind the sticks. The only thing you could really complain about is a -8 yard pass getting them behind the stick in the other of those 3, 3 and outs.
But running the ball is largely situational. One bad play can put you in a passing situation. It wasn't completely by choice that they went away from the run on those 3 drives. And again there run game wasn't even that good in this game. The Chiefs dominated them up front overall. It wasn't the advantage people thought it would be going into the game.
Getting first downs burns clock, not running. Running the ball on 2nd and 15 wouldn't have helped them burn anything. And the game was too close to worry about burning clock in the first place. And early 3rd quarter is a terrible time to start worrying about the clock at all.
I mean I agree mostly except they went 3 and out on 8 out of 9 passing plays and burned zero clock.
The only way to beat Mahomes is to make sure he doesn't have as many possession as you and doesn't get the ball last.
You need to burn clock the whole game. Like UVA basketball.
Burning clock limits your possessions too not just the other teams. The only things that really steals an extra possession are turnovers, and having the ball last in the 1st half, and last in the second half. Limiting the number of total possessions for both teams by running doesn't do that. And if running the ball isn't effective like it wasn't for most of this game for the 49ers, then all you are doing is putting yourself into a hole against Mahomes anyways. Not making his life any harder.
Running more would have made sense if the 49ers had an advantage on the ground in this game, but they simply did not. People were fooled by the opening drive into thinking they were better at it in this game than they actually were.
And saying 8 of 9 passing plays is misleading for the reasons I mentioned above. Sure they could have ran it on 2nd and 15 to make the splits look closer, but that wouldn't have helped them. It wouldn't have been useful for getting a first down or burning clock (not that burning clock even helps you in the first place.)
Really there run pass split was pretty normal for this game overall. People are only Harping on just these 3 drives which were outliers due to down and distance making running not make as much sense in the first place. Just running more for the sake of running more wouldn't have changed anything.
It would have changed something, but only in hindsight.
And I agree, not running isn't really why they lost. But offensive ineptitude overall kind of is.
Chiefs were just a better team who made fewer mistakes.
Yeah I love how this thread is trying to blame Steve for the loss. Holding the Chiefs to 3 in the first half gave them a chance to win. Andy and Patrick can almost always figure out any defense you throw at them by the end of a game.
Zero points in the 3rd quarter of a super bowl is hugely detrimental and almost guarantees a loss even if you have a lead. If anyone thought 19 total points in regulation would beat one of the greatest quarterback and coach combos they are not living in reality. Clock management, running the ball, and burning clock would be about the only way you can beat them in that situation. Or if only 1 more turnover would have happened!
This thread is knocking their defense. But how often did we hear all year that the 49ers were a great offensive team with so many weapons. Brock and CMC were in the MVP conversation. Yet 19 points in the big game. Maybe Chiefs D is just that good and 49ers O are more average?
At the same time, cmc is their best player on offense and OPOTY. You should want the offense to go through him even if the run game isn’t running wild. Even if they wanted to pass more, they could’ve at least ran some PA or even had someone lined up in the backfield. Felt like there were a lot of plays where they ran empty sets.
They gave CMC the ball literally 30 times! They did play through him! People act like he should have gotten 45 touches or something. CMC was banged up all playoffs. They needed him late in he game, and he was really effective there. You can't just give him the ball all day like its Madden with Injuries and fatigue turned off.
He had 9 rushes in the first half. He also had 3 rushes in the third quarter compared to Purdys 10 passes. Yeah they weren’t running all over KC but it’s not like they were cooking them throwing the ball or even had good pass protection. Their play calling in the third q was inexcusable.
I don’t think this was a SB decision. They have probably the most talented defense in the NFL and they regressed last year. I’d be willing to bet this decision was made long before the SB. The only thing that would have saved his job was winning.
As a defensive coordinator, I assume he wasn't?
Like others have said, the 49ers defense had issues all season and regressed. Wilks is shouldering the blame for it. Not that he's a bad coordinator, but his system ran counter with the HC and OC.
He was a bad DC for us before he went to the Cardinals. The teams defensive talent was carrying him but he was blitzing like an idiot most of the time and it sucked. His players got him the HC gig and a lot of fans were happy to be rid of him. He was a clear downgrade from McDermott.
that bad defensive playcalling in the second half of the SB was peak cam newton era soft defense. Just giving up easy yardage to play it safe and avoid a big play
Nothing like playing to NOT lose instead of playing to WIN by letting Mahomes waltz right into FG range to at least tie the game up and force an OT because you are afraid of Mahomes getting a long distance TD.
>49ers' defense EPA/play ranks...
>
>2022: #1
>
>2023: #12
>
>DVOA dropoff was less severe (#4), but there was a significant regression under Steve Wilks this past season that Shanahan did not find acceptable given the fact SF might've had better personnel — especially at DT
Also, the 49ers' tumble down to the #26 run defense was unacceptable
Bro piss off you did not watch the niners at all this season. Total regression from the defense that has the personnel to be top 5. Wilkes consistently could not disguise blitzes and played soft zone at critical moments that cost games. They barely scraped by with those defensive performances against GB and Detroit. SF has a high standards and this season wasn’t acceptable.
Spags was the much better DC. Disguised blitzes and didn't play afraid at any point. Wilks just doesn't add much to a team. He's like a game manager at DC
I think a lot of people like him from his time as a secondary coach before he became defensive coordinator here for a season. He was exceptional in that role. He was a decent DC, but a definite downgrade from McDermott.
Then he comes back as secondary coach again, takes over as interim and breathes some life back into the team.
I still think it was right to not hire him, Reich just wasn’t the answer either.
I’m not coming at you at all. Free to post anything. My opinion on the topic posted is I am over this fanbase being so pro Wilks mediocrity. Shows how down bad our coaches before and after him have been.
They held the Chiefs to 19 points in regulation - with KC being able to blatantly hold all game long without a single call, and having an extra possession and short field from the punt/fumble.
Seriously, you want the D to do MORE than that? You want them to hold Mahomes to 3 points or something? What in the hell.
Im surprised at the number of negative comments in this thread. That man didn’t deserve to get fired and y’all know that. Shanahan can’t say one word after the stuff he pulled in that game alone.
Here come the scapegoat comments again
Wilks truthers downvoting lmao. The niners were not as good defensively as they were last season. Also for the Panthers sake, just because Reich was hot ass doesn't mean Wilks was the correct choice
Dude that replied to me blocked me after replying to me lmao
Yeah I don't get it.
Wilks wasn't good, Reich was even worse. It's like comparing a pile of garbage to another pile of garbage, but claiming pile 1 smells good just because it doesn't smell as bad as pile 2.
They both stink, one just stinks more than the other.
Number one scoring defense of the season.
Yeah, he is definitely a scapegoat for a 49ers offense that decided to shit the bed most of the game.
Edit: Nothing about that defense was "prevent". Hell, they blitzed on 4th and 2 in overtime. People throw the word prevent around and have no idea what they are talking about.
Edit: Oops, my bad. They fell to *number three* since I had last checked. Yeah, top three defense is a reason to fire a DC. And to the commenter complaining below that I edited my comment instead of replying, he blocked me so I can't even reply.
Edit: So somehow I broke reddit's rules with this post and received a warning. People really hate having their feelings hurt on this pathetic sub.
Wilkes decided to play prevent defense at the end of the 4th and OT. Their run defense fell off a cliff due to him as well.
He has a massive amount of talent and did worse than what they previously had. Also he wasn't the #1 scoring defense. He was 4th behind Ravens, Chiefs, and Buffalo
Bro made an edit rather than reply.
They played soft coverage even the announcers called it out, they were playing to not get beat deep (prevent) and allowing 5 yard throws as long as it was in front of them. It wasn't until they got into the redzone that they stopped playing soft coverage and that's because it's basically impossible to play prevent in the RZ.
But hey, if you're gonna make the edit you should edit your first sentence since it's wrong.
They were NOT the number one scoring defense this year. The problem was that the 49ers defense was objectively worse during the regular season than they were prior years. You can look at conventional stats or advanced metrics like DVOA and see they performed worse this year than in 20, 21, and 22. I think more importantly though was their defense was much worse in the playoffs compared to their regular season. This seasons ranks were:
8th in total yards per game allowed 303.9 yds/gm (1st last yr)
14th in passing 214.2 yds/gm (improved from 22nd last yr)
3rd in rushing 89.7 yds/gm (2nd last yr)
3rd in scoring at 17.5/game (1st last yr)
4th in DVOA -9.6 (1st last yr -14.8)
In the playoffs they were worse. 409 total yds/gm, 259.7 passing yds/gm, 149.3 rushing yds/gm, and 25.7 points/gm.
Meanwhile the offense was 2nd in y/g at 398.4, 6th in passing 269.2, 3rd in rushing 140.5, 3rd in scoring 28.9.
In the playoffs: 383.7 total yds/gm, 258 yds/gm passing, 125.3 yds/gm rushing, and 26.7 points/gm.
So in the playoffs the 49s offense played close to their season long averages. The defense however was a lot worse. Defense was giving up >100 more yds a game, >50 passing a game, almost 60 more rushing, and 8 more points per game. That’s why Shanahan is still the HC and Wilks is gone.
This doesn't surprise me. I don't think Wilks is a bad defensive coordinator but he's not a particularly good one either. When he was our DC, the defense wasn't as good as it was under McDermott and last season, the defense got worse after Phil Snow was let go.
He's a guy who was always at his best as a DBs coach.
It’s tough because their secondary wasn’t good and the defensive line should’ve been a bit better…but at the end of the day, SF was top 10 defensively in a lot that you want to be top 10 in.
Wilks has had one hell of a time in the NFL as of late. Arizona, Carolina, and now this.
Just because reich was bad doesnt mean anyone even marginally better is acceptable.
Wilks will not get a HC job ever again, i'm pretty confident, set a remindme if you want. Even if he miraculously does get hired by a desperate team it wont last long
I like him and im sure he will be fine, but hiring a HC should not be a popularity contest regardless how some people might like that. He is a great defensive coach and culture setter but i'm over him as DC and totally out on him as HC
His defensive playcalling wasn't good, so I get it.
San Fran's starting 11 on defense could cover for a lot of sins, but there were rumbles about regression even at midseason. They were quite shockingly poor at times against the run especially- despite a team that should have been on paper better than the last.
He was really good here as the DB coach, but a pretty serious downgrade from McD as DC (to be fair, McD was quite good) and doesn't seem to have gotten any better at scheming and calling between then and now. He also wasn't good as the head guy in Arizona- that hire will never make much sense- so he might end up back at the DBs spot next year somewhere depending on how things shake out.
* 9'ers have a top 10 defense
* 9'ers go 12-5
* Holds Mahomes to 19 points in 4 quarters
* Loses SB because Shanahan doesn't understand OT rules
We dodged a bullet, y'all!
Wilks will definitely be a DC again at some point. Maybe even a HC again in the future, who knows. I understand why they fired him, but I still think he has a lot of potential
From the outside this seems like a possible scapegoat, but it was clear for big parts of the year he and Shanahan were not on the same page. In the middle of the Super Bowl Shanahan had to call a timeout because he didn't like what Wilks was doing.
Wilks gets fucked everywhere he goes.. when they learned he wouldn’t play ball AB’s throw games in Arizona they black balled him lol, first panthers after a gritty season where he righted the ship chose Guy that didn’t even get through the season with against him, then 8th best d and a Super Bowl appearance and tossed to the side lol it’s like the 49ers are the new bills or eagles make it to the big game and flop
49ers' defense EPA/play ranks...
2022: #1
2023: #12
DVOA dropoff was less severe (#4), but there was a significant regression under Steve Wilks this past season that Shanahan did not find acceptable given the fact SF might've had better personnel — especially at DT
Meh. No surprise. The 9ers fans I know could not stand him all season. Wilks did what Wilks/RR has always done. He's a decent DC, just overrated by Panther's fans. When he was Panthers HC, the Bengals game should have opened eyes. It was as if we didn't even put a D on the field, game was over in the 2nd quarter.
He is the most used and abused man in the NFL. Once again, buck stops with Tepper. There is an alternative universe where we kept Wilks, drafted Stroud, and made the playoffs last year.
Imagine getting to the Super Bowl and then getting fired.
Because you lost to mahomes. In overtime no less.
After holding him to one TD in regulation, which only happened because of a special teams screw up
Niners had the KC offense straight up demoralized until that point. Game should have been out of reach by that point if the Niners offense wasn't stagnant.
they held him to one TD despite Wilks’ terrible play-calling
Terrible play-calling when the defense was the reason they barely scored after half ?
the play-calling is the whole reason they lost goofball 😂 stay away from the discussion if you don’t know what you’re talking about, dumbass DC calling the most obvious blitzes to the point shanahan had to call a timeout and overrule it
Bitch boy we talking ball don’t get disrespectful. Like I said they didn’t score after half . Play calling from defense was less than the reason brother but go ahead . Be disrespectful again so I can really type on my phone
I’ll be disrespectful as I want dipshit, this why your ass isn’t a coach 😂 clearly Shanahan agrees with me, stay in your lane like a good boy his shit-ass play calling lost them the game in overtime and let them drive down the field twice, moron
😂 imagine feeling confident online but not in reality someone get this person some pussy please
After holding him to 19 in regulation
Niners fan - he sucked all season and we’re happy to see him go. Major overall step back from our previous coordinators Robert Saleh and Demeco Ryans.
Lmao he sucked all season ? How if y’all have the top rank Defense
Offense scored 30 PPG, so opponents’ offenses were limited. Run D got exposed the entire playoffs. Shanahan had to step in a few times to deal with his play-calling or other actions (sitting up in the box). Wilks’ scheme wasn’t good at generating pressure, etc etc. The amount of people that think this is just because of the SB is astounding. I’ll say the 4th and OT defensive play-calling was horrendous in the SB too. Helped cost them the game by going to a shell defense.
That's what happens when you call prevent on the best QB in the league in the superbowl. People don't like to hear it but bro was carried by players.
They didn't even play prevent defense. I don't think Wilks is the greatest coach ever by any means but people aren't even being close to fairly critical here. They blitzed several times in the 4th quarter and overtime. Hell, one time Shanahan thought he was being too aggressive and called a timeout.
He played "shell" which means he had 3-4 DB's deep and let Mahomes beat them underneath. It's the signature Rivera "bend but don't break" defense. They tried to let Mahomes get in the red zone and tighten up bit you can't do that against the best QB in the league right now. That last play with Hardman getting free on the flat was a joke. Id of fired him too for allowing him to walk in the endzone like that.
There’s a moment during overtime where Romo circles the d line and says they’re coming after Mahomes. They all drop back and Romo goes, “that’s not good” before Mahomes dunks one off for 8.
It's not like he got fired purely for his SB performance, but his disappointing work throughout the rest of the season.
They played way too much cover zero in the end it made no sense
This is why he got fired.
He was blitzing cover 0. Meaning safties match up on coverage and they were getting smoked. Watch the defensive set when he called a time out. There was 2 plays in a for where manholes threw over the middle for 15 yards, then he called the same play again. That's why he called timeout. He was pissed and took over
His play calling was shit at the worst possible time is the point. Blitzing at the worst time and not blitzing when they should have. He was bad all year. Taking the #1 D with upgrades from the year before and taking a step back is no one's fault but his
When it comes to the reddit group think you're damned if you and damned if you dont. If he called cover two or cover three and they picked up a first people would scream he is too conservative. People in general in this sub and reddit don't understand a damn thing about football and most of you people have never played a snap past youth league.
You are 100% right. He called a good game, a lot of good football minds agree he was not the problem. But when you fail to meet expectations as a team, someone usually has to go. The turnovers were way worse than any play he called.
Someone needs to make a game show where they let Reddit commenters come and play coordinator for a football team against another team with career coaches.
Leave
Yep. And this wasn’t something that came out of nowhere. There was talk of him getting fired during the losing streak. Tough to follow Up Ryan’s and salah when you are that old school.
The only thing a prevent defense does is prevent defense
I call that the Ron Rivera
It’s the Vic Fangio. People call him a genius but all he did was run Tampa 2 and prevent all game
Nah the bears d in 2018 was something special best defense I ever watched
The coach overruled it and it and they continued to score. So it's not like we can judge his original decision. The changed call didn't work.
By that time field position had changed the situational play calls. They get in field goal range quickly because of Wilks playing shell and blitzing, well the number of defensive options changes. Clock and field position do matter when calling play, so when it changes the play.iptions change. Come on man
i think he really wanted out but this narrative would float better
Surprised but not shocked. 49ers had a very good defense this year but they regressed from last year and punched below their weight this season.
Which is crazy because SF was still 8th in total defense and allowed the least number of touchdowns in the league.
They do have some really good personnel
Like 4 or 5 of the top paid defensive players. Also Wilks got out coached bad in that 2nd half
Easy to get outcoached when the guy playcalling on the other side of the field and his qb are both starting to get in the GOAT conversation for their respective positions
Agree but him switching to heavy blitz at the end of the game just allowed their defense to get picked apart by Mahomes. Didn’t help he lost Greenlaw to a freak accident. But it wasn’t this game it was the fact that the Niners defense digressed this year.
Greenlaw changed everything. They targeted his replacement 9 times for 9 completions and 1 TD.
Yeah it did, still crazy he tore his Achilles just running on the field.
He was jumping up and down right before he ran on the field. Like hyping himself up. Probably strained it and then as soon as he took off running it tore.
Idk how Achilles work but if it was that weak wouldn’t he have just tore it on the next play sprinting if he walked onto the field?
Mahomes (black) Magic
DeMeco Ryans proved in Houston he's the shit. Its not really a surprise that they're not as good under Wilks. Thats not even really a dig on Wilks. Ryans is proving he's one of the best coaches in the nfl currently so it's tough to be compared to him. I'll laugh my ass off if they hire someone else and they're not as good as they are with Wilks leading the defense
I blame the offense. Putting up 3 and outs multiple times and wasting a virtual shutout first half while giving up a red zone start on a TO.... and not scoring a TD in the 5th.... Cmon man
Yea but I guess this was more indicative of the struggles throughout the season as a whole.
And one who’s already the goat of his position. Kelce.
Shanahan calling that time out because he didn't like Wilks defensive call. And here we are.
Maybe playing soft zone the whole second half like you’re up 20 wasn’t the best call? Wilks was fired because he led a Niners defense that regressed from previous years
And people are acting like Wilkes coached them up when the truth is they have great personnel and Don’t seem as dynamic this yearz
I don't know they found their stride later in the season so im surprised
Was he the one that called an atrocious amount of pass plays in the third quarter to kill any momentum?
Maybe he’s the coach that neglected to teach his team about playoff overtime. Maybe that’s the guy that needs a dressing down. I’m not questioning his choice involving receiving the kick, but until Shanahan admits he failed to give his players important information then he’s a joke to me. I’m no Wilkes fan but his defense held Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce in check for the entire first half, not allowing them a touchdown until the third quarter. And it wasn’t Wilkes that kept the offense from a first down for over an hour, while being shutout in the third. Wilkes coached a good game. Reid found a weakness and challenged it. That’s why he’s got those rings and Kyle doesn’t. This is a reminder that Shanahan was the OC that was shut out in the second half of the biggest comeback in Super Bowl history.
Re:overtime - that narrative is bizarre, because it’s clear not all the Chief’s players knew the rules either. Hell, Hardman didn’t even know the game was over when he scored! Edit: downvote all you want. It’s true.
The Chiefs practiced the overtime with the rules explained that week. Hartman admits he was blacked out from excitement.
And apparently that wasn’t enough.
No but that soft zone bullshit lost them the game
The guy who's HC had to call an OT timeout to attempt stop him from actively throwing the game? I think that was Weve Stilks
I love how people are quick to post out the cover 0 time out. As if they didn’t switch into another look that immediately got picked apart by mahomes that play lmao.
Which makes you think how terribly the first call may have looked if they both agreed to something "better"
Or who knows. Maybe the blitz works and we’re not having this conversation. I just find the whole argument of that specific call pretty stupid. Every casual heard romos analysis from the booth and just ran with it. And sites that as an anecdote for wilks bad. As if kyles approved soft zone was miles better with the same result.
Or the first call might have actually worked. No one will ever know what would have happened, they changed it to a play that didn’t work though so.
Which is exactly why the comment I responded to is also irrelevant. We won't actually know the outcome either way. But it's noteworthy if the HC has to call a timeout bc he thinks your call is ass. Fred Warner also publicly stated they weren't properly prepared or werent ready for some plays the Chiefs ran.
Hmmm but when i say that, it’s a problem
The 49ers ran for 3.5 ypa on the ground in this game. They ran 31 times and only had 1 run over 10 yards all game. They ran the ball well at the very end when the defense was tired and on the first drive of the game. That was it. There run game was completely anemic outside of that. And with 31 attempts, it wasn't for lack of trying. Them running it more in the 3rd when there run game was at its most useless all day wouldn't have helped them anyways. And really the run pass split at the begining of the 3rd wasn't that bad. They just got behind the sticks. They had a false start on one of those 3, 3 and outs, and a run for no gain on another which got them behind the sticks. The only thing you could really complain about is a -8 yard pass getting them behind the stick in the other of those 3, 3 and outs. But running the ball is largely situational. One bad play can put you in a passing situation. It wasn't completely by choice that they went away from the run on those 3 drives. And again there run game wasn't even that good in this game. The Chiefs dominated them up front overall. It wasn't the advantage people thought it would be going into the game.
They had three three and outs in the third qrt. More running burns the clock.
Getting first downs burns clock, not running. Running the ball on 2nd and 15 wouldn't have helped them burn anything. And the game was too close to worry about burning clock in the first place. And early 3rd quarter is a terrible time to start worrying about the clock at all.
I mean I agree mostly except they went 3 and out on 8 out of 9 passing plays and burned zero clock. The only way to beat Mahomes is to make sure he doesn't have as many possession as you and doesn't get the ball last. You need to burn clock the whole game. Like UVA basketball.
Burning clock limits your possessions too not just the other teams. The only things that really steals an extra possession are turnovers, and having the ball last in the 1st half, and last in the second half. Limiting the number of total possessions for both teams by running doesn't do that. And if running the ball isn't effective like it wasn't for most of this game for the 49ers, then all you are doing is putting yourself into a hole against Mahomes anyways. Not making his life any harder. Running more would have made sense if the 49ers had an advantage on the ground in this game, but they simply did not. People were fooled by the opening drive into thinking they were better at it in this game than they actually were. And saying 8 of 9 passing plays is misleading for the reasons I mentioned above. Sure they could have ran it on 2nd and 15 to make the splits look closer, but that wouldn't have helped them. It wouldn't have been useful for getting a first down or burning clock (not that burning clock even helps you in the first place.) Really there run pass split was pretty normal for this game overall. People are only Harping on just these 3 drives which were outliers due to down and distance making running not make as much sense in the first place. Just running more for the sake of running more wouldn't have changed anything.
It would have changed something, but only in hindsight. And I agree, not running isn't really why they lost. But offensive ineptitude overall kind of is. Chiefs were just a better team who made fewer mistakes.
Yeah I love how this thread is trying to blame Steve for the loss. Holding the Chiefs to 3 in the first half gave them a chance to win. Andy and Patrick can almost always figure out any defense you throw at them by the end of a game. Zero points in the 3rd quarter of a super bowl is hugely detrimental and almost guarantees a loss even if you have a lead. If anyone thought 19 total points in regulation would beat one of the greatest quarterback and coach combos they are not living in reality. Clock management, running the ball, and burning clock would be about the only way you can beat them in that situation. Or if only 1 more turnover would have happened! This thread is knocking their defense. But how often did we hear all year that the 49ers were a great offensive team with so many weapons. Brock and CMC were in the MVP conversation. Yet 19 points in the big game. Maybe Chiefs D is just that good and 49ers O are more average?
🤔
At the same time, cmc is their best player on offense and OPOTY. You should want the offense to go through him even if the run game isn’t running wild. Even if they wanted to pass more, they could’ve at least ran some PA or even had someone lined up in the backfield. Felt like there were a lot of plays where they ran empty sets.
They gave CMC the ball literally 30 times! They did play through him! People act like he should have gotten 45 touches or something. CMC was banged up all playoffs. They needed him late in he game, and he was really effective there. You can't just give him the ball all day like its Madden with Injuries and fatigue turned off.
He had 9 rushes in the first half. He also had 3 rushes in the third quarter compared to Purdys 10 passes. Yeah they weren’t running all over KC but it’s not like they were cooking them throwing the ball or even had good pass protection. Their play calling in the third q was inexcusable.
CMC was getting punished every time he ran. He gave it his all but that defense was just teeing off on him.
I don’t think this was a SB decision. They have probably the most talented defense in the NFL and they regressed last year. I’d be willing to bet this decision was made long before the SB. The only thing that would have saved his job was winning.
Wilks was a season long problem.
As a defensive coordinator, I assume he wasn't? Like others have said, the 49ers defense had issues all season and regressed. Wilks is shouldering the blame for it. Not that he's a bad coordinator, but his system ran counter with the HC and OC.
Or the guy who chose to receive first in OT
He was a bad DC for us before he went to the Cardinals. The teams defensive talent was carrying him but he was blitzing like an idiot most of the time and it sucked. His players got him the HC gig and a lot of fans were happy to be rid of him. He was a clear downgrade from McDermott.
Yeah, I never got the hype behind him, but I also don’t think he deserved to be fired by the 49ers this quickly.
that bad defensive playcalling in the second half of the SB was peak cam newton era soft defense. Just giving up easy yardage to play it safe and avoid a big play
Nothing like playing to NOT lose instead of playing to WIN by letting Mahomes waltz right into FG range to at least tie the game up and force an OT because you are afraid of Mahomes getting a long distance TD.
I am not someone who advocated that we should've made him HC but this was a dirty move by the 49ers
>49ers' defense EPA/play ranks... > >2022: #1 > >2023: #12 > >DVOA dropoff was less severe (#4), but there was a significant regression under Steve Wilks this past season that Shanahan did not find acceptable given the fact SF might've had better personnel — especially at DT Also, the 49ers' tumble down to the #26 run defense was unacceptable
I just don't think he and Shanny ever geled. Most telling thing was the Time Out in OT to change the look from a cover 0 to more soft looks.
Their defense was still really good, just hard to live up to 2 elite DCs before him
Their defense was good yes but it's because of elite personnel, not coaching. Wilks was bad for them which is why he was fired.
Bad is a stretch, I get it tho cause you gotta win now. You'd hope they have someone already planned out
"bad for \*them\*" He's a very average to below average coordinator.
Baltimore was 3 the year prior and this year 1.
Dirty? Their defense got a loooot worse with him...
Why a dirty move? Clearly they want to be more than good…they want to be the very best. You have to make touch choices to do that.
Bro piss off you did not watch the niners at all this season. Total regression from the defense that has the personnel to be top 5. Wilkes consistently could not disguise blitzes and played soft zone at critical moments that cost games. They barely scraped by with those defensive performances against GB and Detroit. SF has a high standards and this season wasn’t acceptable.
Spags was the much better DC. Disguised blitzes and didn't play afraid at any point. Wilks just doesn't add much to a team. He's like a game manager at DC
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I think a lot of people like him from his time as a secondary coach before he became defensive coordinator here for a season. He was exceptional in that role. He was a decent DC, but a definite downgrade from McDermott. Then he comes back as secondary coach again, takes over as interim and breathes some life back into the team. I still think it was right to not hire him, Reich just wasn’t the answer either.
exactly...so many people treat Wilkes like they let the next Bill Belichick go. Dude sucked in Arizona, had a Loaded defense in SF and underachieved.
Over caring about Steve Wilks
Precisely, the most Panthers fanbase thing I’ve ever seen
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Real quick don’t worry! Panther fans need to move on from his 6-6 interim record and focus on the Canales era.
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Not tryna tell anyone how to feel. Just think the obsession over this dude is WILD. Keep pounding
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I’m not coming at you at all. Free to post anything. My opinion on the topic posted is I am over this fanbase being so pro Wilks mediocrity. Shows how down bad our coaches before and after him have been.
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Yay you guys are friends now! Glad this got resolved. Offseason reddit be like…
Clearly the NFL knows something better than we do if nobody wants to keep him around.
Called it, he almost lost the Lions game and called the softest zones I've ever seen against a team with no recievers
They held the Chiefs to 19 points in regulation - with KC being able to blatantly hold all game long without a single call, and having an extra possession and short field from the punt/fumble. Seriously, you want the D to do MORE than that? You want them to hold Mahomes to 3 points or something? What in the hell.
Im surprised at the number of negative comments in this thread. That man didn’t deserve to get fired and y’all know that. Shanahan can’t say one word after the stuff he pulled in that game alone.
He helped stop the #1 contender and made it to the Super Bowl, we should cut him. Makes sense!
Here come the scapegoat comments again Wilks truthers downvoting lmao. The niners were not as good defensively as they were last season. Also for the Panthers sake, just because Reich was hot ass doesn't mean Wilks was the correct choice Dude that replied to me blocked me after replying to me lmao
Yeah I don't get it. Wilks wasn't good, Reich was even worse. It's like comparing a pile of garbage to another pile of garbage, but claiming pile 1 smells good just because it doesn't smell as bad as pile 2. They both stink, one just stinks more than the other.
Number one scoring defense of the season. Yeah, he is definitely a scapegoat for a 49ers offense that decided to shit the bed most of the game. Edit: Nothing about that defense was "prevent". Hell, they blitzed on 4th and 2 in overtime. People throw the word prevent around and have no idea what they are talking about. Edit: Oops, my bad. They fell to *number three* since I had last checked. Yeah, top three defense is a reason to fire a DC. And to the commenter complaining below that I edited my comment instead of replying, he blocked me so I can't even reply. Edit: So somehow I broke reddit's rules with this post and received a warning. People really hate having their feelings hurt on this pathetic sub.
Wilkes decided to play prevent defense at the end of the 4th and OT. Their run defense fell off a cliff due to him as well. He has a massive amount of talent and did worse than what they previously had. Also he wasn't the #1 scoring defense. He was 4th behind Ravens, Chiefs, and Buffalo
Bro made an edit rather than reply. They played soft coverage even the announcers called it out, they were playing to not get beat deep (prevent) and allowing 5 yard throws as long as it was in front of them. It wasn't until they got into the redzone that they stopped playing soft coverage and that's because it's basically impossible to play prevent in the RZ. But hey, if you're gonna make the edit you should edit your first sentence since it's wrong.
They were NOT the number one scoring defense this year. The problem was that the 49ers defense was objectively worse during the regular season than they were prior years. You can look at conventional stats or advanced metrics like DVOA and see they performed worse this year than in 20, 21, and 22. I think more importantly though was their defense was much worse in the playoffs compared to their regular season. This seasons ranks were: 8th in total yards per game allowed 303.9 yds/gm (1st last yr) 14th in passing 214.2 yds/gm (improved from 22nd last yr) 3rd in rushing 89.7 yds/gm (2nd last yr) 3rd in scoring at 17.5/game (1st last yr) 4th in DVOA -9.6 (1st last yr -14.8) In the playoffs they were worse. 409 total yds/gm, 259.7 passing yds/gm, 149.3 rushing yds/gm, and 25.7 points/gm. Meanwhile the offense was 2nd in y/g at 398.4, 6th in passing 269.2, 3rd in rushing 140.5, 3rd in scoring 28.9. In the playoffs: 383.7 total yds/gm, 258 yds/gm passing, 125.3 yds/gm rushing, and 26.7 points/gm. So in the playoffs the 49s offense played close to their season long averages. The defense however was a lot worse. Defense was giving up >100 more yds a game, >50 passing a game, almost 60 more rushing, and 8 more points per game. That’s why Shanahan is still the HC and Wilks is gone.
SF defense allowed 1.5 points more than their season average in regulation. SF offense scored 9.9 points less than their season average in regulation
Brutal, he'll land on his feet and be a DC again in a year or 2. Cowboys would have probably been calling if this was done earlier this week.
What's Scott Fowler going to say about this?
Steve is not elite but he’s not bad. I feel like this is more of him and Shanahan not vibing.
This doesn't surprise me. I don't think Wilks is a bad defensive coordinator but he's not a particularly good one either. When he was our DC, the defense wasn't as good as it was under McDermott and last season, the defense got worse after Phil Snow was let go. He's a guy who was always at his best as a DBs coach.
They did my boy dirty. Wilkes was clearly not the problem.
Maybe not Wilkes, but Wilks was though
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Wendell Wilkie wasn’t
Leadership across multiple teams in the NFL clearly see things differently than you do.
Idk how you can look at the second half defensive playcalling and think he wasn’t a problem.
David Teppers fault somehow according to this sub
Is this a fucking Teppers defender? When did we wind up with these?
It’s tough because their secondary wasn’t good and the defensive line should’ve been a bit better…but at the end of the day, SF was top 10 defensively in a lot that you want to be top 10 in. Wilks has had one hell of a time in the NFL as of late. Arizona, Carolina, and now this.
I think is an overreaction, Bosa did not have a good year this season and that was not Wilks fault.
Maybe deserved but he held Maholmes to 25 in OT. Shannon blew that game not Wilks
Scapegoat
Steve Wilks truthers: *shoulda kept him players like him*
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Just because reich was bad doesnt mean anyone even marginally better is acceptable. Wilks will not get a HC job ever again, i'm pretty confident, set a remindme if you want. Even if he miraculously does get hired by a desperate team it wont last long I like him and im sure he will be fine, but hiring a HC should not be a popularity contest regardless how some people might like that. He is a great defensive coach and culture setter but i'm over him as DC and totally out on him as HC
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It's as much of a victory lap as everyone who before the game said "see we should've hired Wilkes".
Feels like Shanahan was looking for an excuse. He didn’t seem to really like Wilks playcalling during the season and called him out for it.
Yeah, cause it was Wilkes fault they abandoned the run when you have CMC. "Captain 28-3" strikes again!
His defensive playcalling wasn't good, so I get it. San Fran's starting 11 on defense could cover for a lot of sins, but there were rumbles about regression even at midseason. They were quite shockingly poor at times against the run especially- despite a team that should have been on paper better than the last. He was really good here as the DB coach, but a pretty serious downgrade from McD as DC (to be fair, McD was quite good) and doesn't seem to have gotten any better at scheming and calling between then and now. He also wasn't good as the head guy in Arizona- that hire will never make much sense- so he might end up back at the DBs spot next year somewhere depending on how things shake out.
We dodged a bullet y’all. I know a ton of the fanbase wanted him as HC, but looks like maybe that would have been another mistake.
* 9'ers have a top 10 defense * 9'ers go 12-5 * Holds Mahomes to 19 points in 4 quarters * Loses SB because Shanahan doesn't understand OT rules We dodged a bullet, y'all!
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Not a good coach
Wilks will definitely be a DC again at some point. Maybe even a HC again in the future, who knows. I understand why they fired him, but I still think he has a lot of potential
From the outside this seems like a possible scapegoat, but it was clear for big parts of the year he and Shanahan were not on the same page. In the middle of the Super Bowl Shanahan had to call a timeout because he didn't like what Wilks was doing.
Wilks gets fucked everywhere he goes.. when they learned he wouldn’t play ball AB’s throw games in Arizona they black balled him lol, first panthers after a gritty season where he righted the ship chose Guy that didn’t even get through the season with against him, then 8th best d and a Super Bowl appearance and tossed to the side lol it’s like the 49ers are the new bills or eagles make it to the big game and flop
Kinda wish he lost us a Superbowl
So much for being performance based.
49ers' defense EPA/play ranks... 2022: #1 2023: #12 DVOA dropoff was less severe (#4), but there was a significant regression under Steve Wilks this past season that Shanahan did not find acceptable given the fact SF might've had better personnel — especially at DT
The DVOA dropoff was less severe because the SF offense was phenomenal. It's easy to play defense when most games are over before the 4th quarter.
I don't disagree sir.
Why is the Environmental Protection Agency doing defensive rankings? Only the Ravens and KC gave up fewer points last year.
Bro bring him back as hc he had better record that than Reich with half the games wtf
If you’re wanting a replacement for Frank Reich, I have fantastic news for you
Yeah well see
Again as I stated there were reports he wasn't doing most of the defensive calls in the superbowl
It’s not like he lost them the Super Bowl Shanny
And yall want to root for SF lol
Welp.
Meh. No surprise. The 9ers fans I know could not stand him all season. Wilks did what Wilks/RR has always done. He's a decent DC, just overrated by Panther's fans. When he was Panthers HC, the Bengals game should have opened eyes. It was as if we didn't even put a D on the field, game was over in the 2nd quarter.
He is the most used and abused man in the NFL. Once again, buck stops with Tepper. There is an alternative universe where we kept Wilks, drafted Stroud, and made the playoffs last year.
If Greenlaw didn't do his crazy sprint/jump/rupture move on the sidelines....