Fresh off a disappointing Super Bowl loss, the San Francisco 49ers are making a coaching change. Head coach Kyle Shanahan announced on Wednesday that San Francisco has parted ways with defensive coordinator Steve Wilks after just one season in that role.
This has to be considered surprising news. Teams don’t typically move on from coordinators after earning an appearance in the Super Bowl.
But Wilks was under fire throughout the entire 2023 season after replacing current Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator.
Under Wilks, San Francisco’s defense finished third in the NFL in points allowed at 17.5 per game. The 49ers also finished 10th in total defense after ranking first under Ryans the previous season.
Shanahan was visibly frustrated with some of Wilks’ defensive play calls during the 49ers’ overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII Sunday night. This led to him making such a bold decision. Below, we look at four candidates to replace Wilks as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator.
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Kris Kocurek promoted to defensive coordinator
When Robert Saleh was hired to be the New York Jets’ head coach ahead of the 2021 season, the aforementioned Ryans was promoted to defensive coordinator. It worked out swimmingly for San Francisco with Ryans leading two top-three defenses. This continuity seemed to help the 49ers on that side of the ball. The same thing can’t be said after San Francisco went outside of the organization to replace Ryans with Wilks.
If San Francisco looks internally, Kocurek would make the most sense. He just finished his fifth season as the 49ers’ defensive line coach. The veteran coach’s tenure in Northern California has seen the likes of Arik Armstead and Javon Kinlaw improve leaps and bounds. He’s also played a role in Nick Bosa turning into one of the best defenders in football. This makes a lot of sense.
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San Francisco 49ers bring in Ron Rivera
After being fired by the Washington Commanders following the 2023 season, Rivera has made it clear that he plans on continuing to coach. He was a finalist for the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive coordinator job before they hired Mike Zimmer.
Rivera makes a ton of sense given both his head coach experience and past as a defensive coordinator in the NFL. He served as a coordinator with the Chicago Bears (2004-06) and then-San Diego Chargers (2008-10), leading three top-five defenses in the process.
The Carolina Panthers’ head coach from 2011-19, Rivera also led five top-10 defenses with that organization. Sure, the Commanders’ defense fell off the map this past season. But that was primarily due to a lack of talent. Rivera has the experience San Francisco covets at this position.
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Wink Martindale heads to Northern California
Martindale ran a 3-4 defense during his time with the Baltimore Ravens from 2018-21. That complicates things given San Francisco’s model is of a 4-3 variety. The 49ers are not going to switch up their defensive front with standouts such as Bosa, Armstead and Javon Hargrave doing their thing.
With that said, Martindale is among the most-respected defensive minds in football. He can easily transition to the 4-3 without much of an issue. Getting someone of this caliber would be a boon for the 49ers.
Pete Carroll returns to his San Francisco 49ers roots
A native of San Francisco, Carroll grew up in Marin County. By any definition, he’s a local boy. The Super Bowl-winning head coach also worked as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator in 1995 and 1996 before earning his second head coach gig with the New England Patriots in 1997.
Sure, a backwards career move for someone of Carroll’s ilk at the age of 72 wouldn’t make a ton of sense. With that said, he could decide that wrapping up his career locally in Northern California with a chance to win a Super Bowl makes a ton of sense. If the former Seattle Seahawks’ head coach came to this decision, the 49ers would welcome him with open arms. That’s for sure.