Panthers handed 49ers an ideal DeMeco Ryans substitute

The San Francisco 49ers are hiring former Panthers coach Steve Wilks to function their new defensive coordinator in 2023.

The San Francisco 49ers are planning to call Steve Wilks because the crew’s defensive coordinator in 2023, transferring rapidly to fill within the gap DeMeco Ryans left behind.

Every week after Ryans agreed to develop into Houston Texans’ head coach, the 49ers are reportedly giving defensive play-calling duties to Wilks, who arrives on the West Coast with a wealth of expertise on varied groups.

Wilks completed the 2022 season as interim head coach of the Carolina Panthers following Matt Rhule’s unsurprising sacking. Carolina went 6-6 beneath Wilks’ management and even had a shot to make the playoffs late within the yr; by then, Wilks had ingratiated himself effectively into the Panthers franchise and earned the assist of many gamers.

Then, the Panthers circled and employed Frank Reich to be their subsequent head coach.

Ousted from Carolina, Wilks now will get to work with Kyle Shanahan on a severe playoff-contending crew that was arguably one damage away from making the Tremendous Bowl this postseason.

Steve Wilks fell into San Francisco 49ers’ lap after Panthers snub

A brand new yr brings new alternatives, and whereas Wilks inherits probably among the finest defenses within the league, he naturally has massive footwear to fill after Ryans’ departure.

A former defensive backs coach for the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Chargers, Wilks spent most of his NFL profession in Carolina and labored his means as much as defensive coordinator in 2017. He had a short head teaching stint on the Arizona Cardinals in 2018 however was fired after one season — in his protection, might anybody have foreseen the Josh Rosen implosion?

Wilks possible would have relished a second head teaching alternative on the Panthers, however such is the chaotic world of the NFL teaching carousel. Regardless that he’s making what may very well be seen as a demotion in his profession by becoming a member of San Francisco, in some ways it seems like the other.

One might definitely do worse than working with a protection stacked with stars from Fred Warner to Nick Bosa to Charvarius Ward and ranked on the high within the league in practically each class final season.

So long as Wilks can keep the crew’s defensive effectivity for the subsequent few years — which is not any simple feat — he’s certain to develop into a scorching head teaching candidate as soon as extra. In spite of everything, San Francisco’s final two DCs, Robert Saleh and Ryans, adopted the identical trajectory to their present head teaching positions.

If Wilks performs his playing cards proper, he may very well be subsequent.