There are two techniques for a head trainer to navigate a crushing Tremendous Bowl loss: Take duty for what went improper, provoke the unit and go back with vengeance, or have interaction in pleasant fireplace and burn the partitions down. The San Francisco 49ers have opted for finger-pointing and scapegoating each and every different. As an alternative of heading into an offseason the place a lot in their roster continues to be below contract and their quarterback continues to be enjoying on a rookie deal for 2 extra seasons, Captain Shanahan has them on a collision route with the Titanic wreckage.
On Wednesday, Kyle Shanahan introduced he was once parting techniques with defensive coordinator Steve Wilks in essentially the most unexpected firing of the offseason. Dumping a defensive coordinator who orchestrated a technique that held Patrick Mahomes to 1 landing in law is a continuation of the 49ers fracturing from inside.
It wasn’t Wilks who iced up Christian McCaffrey out of the offense after he gashed the Chiefs at the flooring within the first part or who elected to obtain in time beyond regulation. Wilks wasn’t chargeable for the low trajectory on Jake Moody’s fateful blocked further level or for a punt bouncing off of Niners rookie Darrell Luter’s ankle resulting in the Chiefs’ first landing.
San Francisco is self-immolating within the fast aftermath of its NFC Championship loss once more.
On Wednesday, All-Professional receiver Brandon Aiyuk, his female friend, and his easiest good friend insinuated that he wasn’t returning subsequent season or at easiest signaled Aiyuk’s plan to carry out whilst negotiating a freelance extension. No longer even 48 hours after the hardest loss any gridiron workforce can undergo, Aiyuk had a torch in hand. San Francisco’s morale drawback even extends to their offensive line. Niners offensive lineman Jonathan Feliciano were given liquored up and tweeted thru it on Monday and inadvertently threw guard Spencer Burford below the bus for now not selecting up Chris Jones as he barreled towards Brock Purdy at the 3rd down in time beyond regulation.
However Wilks’ firing may well be the propellant. Wilks arrived in San Francisco with large sneakers to fill. His predecessor Demeco Ryan earned a rep as probably the most NFL’s brightest defensive conductors. In his ultimate season, Ryans crafted a protection that ranked No. 1 in EPA throughout his ultimate season prior to falling to No. 12. Defensive metrics range from 12 months to 12 months. Two years in the past, Ryan’s protection ranked 8th in defensive EPA in keeping with play.
Alternatively, Shanahan and Wilks have butted heads philosophically throughout the year. On the root of Shanahan’s and Wilks’ disconnect was once Wilks’ choice for 3-4 schemes although he was once employed to perform Shanahan’s most well-liked wide-9 4-3 protection. Shanahan knew this when he employed Wilks, although. All over a midseason dropping streak, Wilks said the trouble of running another scheme after doing his personal factor for almost twenty years.
Wilks most well-liked to blitz at a considerably upper fee, which Shanahan known as him out on throughout a Week 7 loss to the Vikings. Wilks’ 0 blitz with 16 seconds left led to a last-second landing which drew Shanahan’s ire. That has been cited more than one occasions as a primary instance of the divide, however that was once additionally 3 months in the past. Alternatively, Shanahan’s offense may simplest muster 17 issues in that loss.
Wilks most well-liked to name performs from the sales space, in contrast to his predecessors, and was once moved to the sidelines, however the run protection was once his evident chink in his armor after it plummeted from moment within the league in 2022 to twenty sixth. That very same run protection was once shellacked within the first part in their comeback NFC Championship win.
After the Tremendous Bowl, Nick Bosa implied that the again finish of the protection didn’t fuse with the entrance finish. He additionally claimed the protection was once unprepared for Mahomes’ 19-yard acquire on a keeper up the center. However the use of that as a justification given all of the errors Shanahan made Sunday is only a explanation. Over the process a 60-minute schematic matchup on turf, there’s a bevy of miscalculations being made by way of playcallers. Shanahan will have to know this higher than maximum, Alternatively, an offseason of acclimating would have achieved wonders for Wilks given his monitor file of good fortune.
This was once meant to be Wilks’ springboard to some other head training process. As an alternative, he’s unemployed after the Tremendous Bowl. Would Shanahan nonetheless have canned his first-year defensive coordinator after a Tremendous Bowl parade for the reason that protection marginally regressed from the highest consistent with complex analytics? More than likely now not. As an alternative of main a revival for 2024, Shanahan threw Wilks below the bus and joined within the fog of chaos that has enveloped the Niners.
To find DJ Dunson on X…or don’t: @cerebralsportex
