49ers fire Steve Wilks: Shocking dismissal of respected defensive mind the latest in a series of bad breaks

Bad luck would be better than the luck Steve Wilks has had in recent years. The 49ers’ decision to part ways with him after just one season was the latest in a series of bad breaks for the longtime coach. 

Wilks arrived in San Francisco last year after a successful stint as the Carolina Panthers’ interim head coach. He was passed over by Frank Reich despite leading Carolina to a 6-6 finish after the team went 1-4 under Matt Rhule. Carolina went 2-15 this past season, with Reich fired following a 1-10 start. 

Along with making the Panthers competitive, Wilks quickly won over a locker room that wanted him to remain coach. 

“We ride behind Wilks,” linebacker Shaq Thompson said at the time. “He came in here, he’s a true alpha, he’s a true leader and guys follow behind him. He’s done amazing. Look what we’ve been going through.”

“I think with him being able to be honest with us and tell us exactly how we’re going to play the game and what we want to do and not shy away from that,” then-Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold added. “He said early on, even when we were losing some games, it was, ‘Hey, trust the process and trust the game plan.’ If we go into a game knowing we want to run the football and early we get down a score or two, we just got to trust it and know that that game plan is going to come to fruition. So I think Coach Wilks has been doing a really good job messaging that to the team.”

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Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/49ers-fire-steve-wilks-shocking-dismissal-of-respected-defensive-mind-the-latest-in-a-series-of-bad-breaks/

Author : Bryan DeArdo

Publish date : 2024-02-15 16:20:39

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