Getty Steve Wilks, coordinator of the 49ers defense
It is no secret that the 49ers defense has not been the same lately. The team has lost three straight games coming off the 42-10 drubbing of the Cowboys in Week 5, and one of the chief targets of scorn and blame in the wake of that, especially in the 31 points given up to the Bengals in Week 8, has been defensive coordinator Steve Wilks.
Wilks took very specific criticism during the previous week against Minnesota, when he called a blitz just before halftime, which left the 49ers without safety help and led to a debilitating Vikings touchdown. After the Bengals loss, that criticism has been more general.
But he says it does not bother him.
“I can honestly say I’m sort of built for this,” Wilks said in his press conference this week. “Not in an arrogant way, but I’ve always believed, it’s two things, it’s what you hear and what you listen to. So, I hear a lot of the outside noise. I don’t listen to it good or bad.
“As you mentioned, I’ve been doing this for a while and I understand the emotions of this game and what we play at this level. I try not to be emotional. We’re five and three, the standard is so high here, right? We lost three in a row that everybody feels like the ceiling is collapsing on us. We’re in a good position.”
49ers Defense Slipped Under Steve Wilks
The 49ers defense has slipped since last season, when the team was No. 1 in points allowed and No. 1 in yards allowed. San Francisco is 10th in yardage allowed this season, at 2,520, and fourth in points allowed, at 140. The 49ers defense was No. 2 in takeaways last season, at 30, and it is tied for ninth this year, with 13.
Wilks understands that he is the new guy in this mix. He was hired away from Carolina, where he finished last year as the interim head coach, to replace DeMeco Ryans, who had been the defensive coordinator for two years in San Francisco. Ryans was hired to be the Texans’ head coach.
“I’ve seen this, I’ve been around this, I can take it,” Wilks said. “I’m the new guy in. It is what it is. I have confidence in myself. Most importantly I have confidence in those players and the coaches that we’re together and we’re going to come through this.”
Move to Sideline Not a Big Deal
Of course, the big question and controversy around the 49ers has been the move of Wilks from the coach’s booth down to the field. It’s an issue that has been dominating sports talk radio in the Bay Area throughout the bye week, though no one seems to know why.
Some coordinators like to be up in the booth, looking down. Some like to be on the field directly communicating with players. Most fans have no idea where their coordinators like to hang out during games.
For Wilks, the whole thing has been a tempest in a teapot.
“I mean guys to me, just very candid, I think we’re making a bigger deal out of it than it needs to be, to be honest,” Wilks said. “I just want to be able to communicate with the guys a little bit more during the game. Certain things that I’m seeing, I’d rather be able to talk to them directly than to communicate with coaches.”
Once the 49ers defense gets back to playing like itself, expect the controversy to fade away.