SANTA CLARA, Calif. — After just one season as the San Francisco 49ers' defensive coordinator, Steve Wilks is out. «This morning I relieved Steve Wilks of his duties,» Niners coach Kyle Shanahan said in an impromptu conference call Wednesday that was scheduled just 10 minutes before it happened. "(We're) going to end up making a change here at defensive coordinator.
A really tough decision, because [it] really says nothing about Steve as a man or as a football coach. I mean he's exactly what we wanted as a man.
He is a great football coach. «But just where we're going and where we're at with our team from a scheme standpoint and things like that, looking through it all throughout the year to these last few days, I felt pretty strongly that this was a decision that was best for organization.» Shanahan on Tuesday mostly dodged questions about whether Wilks would remain as defensive coordinator for a second season.
He said he needed more time to sort through his feelings on his staff, though he did say he expected most of his staff to be back.