It is difficult to rationalize what is happening with the San Francisco 49ers after the team lost the Super Bowl this past week to the Kansas City Chiefs. After a dominant first half performance, neither the offensive nor defensive sides of the ball could generate any momentum in the second half in a game that allowed superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes to generate a third Lombardi Trophy for his trophy room. After losing their second Super Bowl to Kansas City in a five year span, the team has some major regrouping to do over the next few months.
49ers Need to Circle the Wagons After Disappointing Conclusion in 2023
In the second half of the Super Bowl, it was obvious that the team has simply hit the panic button as they stopped relying on their consistent running game and attempted to generate anything they could on both sides of the ball. The offense stopped giving the ball to Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey and for some reason, the defense stopped trusting the best defensive line in the NFL and starting relying on all-out blitz packages. While the team is usually renowned for their composure and methodical approach to the game, the clear panic was the most obvious cause for the loss.
Clearly the panic hasn’t ended after Head Coach Kyle Shanahan announced the surprise firing of defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. Wilks has extensive experience as a defensive mastermind around the game and led the 49ers to having the third best scoring defense in the NFL this season. At early points of the season, Wilks was in the conversation for taking over as a head coach this offseason and will apparently have plenty of time to explore those opportunities.
The firing of Wilks seems like an obvious emotional reaction to the loss by Shanahan after he will now have to find his fourth new defensive coordinator in as many seasons. The biggest struggle for Wilks was that San Francisco forced him into retaining the defensive scheme of his predecessor Demeco Ryans after Ryans left to become head coach of the Houston Texans. For some context, that’s like if you were hired for an office job but were told you couldn’t remove any of the last guys pictures or paperwork. Wilks was doomed to fail in that position but still managed to have his defense finish 3rd in the NFL last season.
After the total meltdown and apparent lack of focus by Shanahan, the team will now attempt to find a coordinator that runs the exact same system as both Ryans and his predecessor current New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh. As of right now, the number one option for San Francisco based on their criteria is to promote defensive backs coach Daniel Bullocks to the coordinator position.
Bullocks not only doesn’t have experience as a defensive coordinator but he was also likely an assistant under Wilk’s with his specialty with defensive backs. San Francisco clearly likes to stick with what they know but their problem this season is that they need to actually grow and develop their team with the personnel they bring in rather than try to cling to the exact same strategies that they’ve utilized the past four seasons.
San Francisco needs to focus on bringing this team into the future rather than trying to prolong the exact same schemes that have capped their progress over the past few seasons.
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