The San Francisco 49ers49ers will be on their third defensive coordinator in as many years in 2025 after bringing back Robert Saleh to fill the role. The team's defensive coordinator from 2023, Steve Wilks, has landed a new job as the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets.
Wilks will be joining Aaron Glenn, the new head coach of the Jets. Glenn comes from serving as the defensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions since 2021.
Niners fans will remember Wilks' controversial tenure as San Francisco's defensive coordinator that ultimately ended with him being fired after last year's Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Wilks hire was seen as a solid move initially since he had experience as a head coach with the Arizona Cardinals and was seen as a well-respected defensive coach.
However, problems began to arise when it became clear that the defensive philosophy Wilks adhered to was clashing with the defense that the 49ers played beginning under Saleh. There was one especially egregious moment when Wilks called a zero blitz against the Minnesota Vikings at the end of the first half with not much time left on the clock that resulted in a Vikings touchdown.
Then there were other bad signs like the fact that Wilks rejected the advice of cornerback Deommodore Lenoir during the Super Bowl against the Chiefs which could have had a big impact on the game. Ultimately, it just seems like the fit between both sides was off from the star,t which is why hiring him was a mistake on head coach Kyle Shanahan's part.
The team's defense was not atrocious under Wilks, but there was definitely some regression from 2022 when the Niners had defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans as David Lombardi of the San Francisco Standard noted on social media.
After the defense got even worse in 2024 under defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen, some may have wondered if getting rid of Wilks was a mistake. He ultimately was a scapegoat following the Super Bowl loss which may have been unfair, but moving on definitely seems like the right move in retrospect. It seems highly unlikely that a Wilks-led defense would have garnered much better results in 2024 given the injuries the team faced.
In the end though, the Niners were able to reunite with Saleh which seems like the best possible outcome. The defensive coordinator spot should not be as much of a question in 2025 considering Saleh laid the foundation for the 49ers on defense when Shanahan took over in 2017.
We will have to see if Wilks enjoys better success in New York than he did in San Francisco. As for the Niners, one can only hope that Saleh helps restore the defense to what it was back in 2019 at its peak during the Shanahan era.
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