Tag: Steve Wilks

Falcons complete interviews with Brian Callahan, Steve Wilks

The Atlanta Falcons interviewed Bengals OC Brian Callahan and 49ers DC Steve Wilks on Saturday, the team announced

The Atlanta Falcons knocked out two more interviews for their coaching vacancy on Saturday. The team held virtual meetings with Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks.

Callahan has served as Cincinnati’s offensive coordinator for the last five seasons and was praised for his work with Jake Browning in 2023 after Joe Burrow was ruled out for the year. The Falcons spoke to Callahan on Saturday afternoon before talking to Wilks later in the evening.

Wilks served as the 49ers defensive coordinator in 2023 and has experience as a head coach with both the Carolina Panthers and the Arizona Cardinals. He worked his way through the NFL coaching ranks as a defensive backs specialist with the Chicago Bears, San Diego Chargers and Carolina Panthers.

The Falcons have now completed three interviews for their head coach vacancy (Mike Macdonald, Brian Callahan, Steve Wilks)

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Falcons set to interview 2 head coach candidates on Saturday

Falcons set to interview two head coach candidates on Saturday, per report

The Atlanta Falcons have held one interview for their head coach vacancy thus far, but several more are expected to follow over the next week.

After speaking with Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald on Thursday, the Falcons are set to interview Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan and 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks on Saturday, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

The team has been linked to nine different coaches, requesting interviews with Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris and Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, among others.

Track each Atlanta Falcons interview request HERE.

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Why 49ers wouldn’t get comp picks if Steve Wilks gets head coaching job this year

Here’s why the #49ers wouldn’t get any draft picks if Steve Wilks is hired as a head coach this offseason:

There’s a chance the 49ers could be looking for a new defensive coordinator for the second time in two years. DC Steve Wilks has received interview requests from the Falcons and Chargers, and depending on how the postseason goes he could become a hot commodity on the coaching market.

San Francisco has done a good job developing coaches who go on to have success as coaches elsewhere, and thanks to the expanded Rooney Rule, when those coaches are minorities who become head coaches, the 49ers fetch compensatory draft picks. That would not be the case if Wilks is hired in this hiring cycle though.

One caveat of the expanded Rooney Rule, which incentivizes the development of minority coaches into head coaches and general managers after decades of failure from NFL teams in that regard, is that the coach must be with a team for two years for the club earn draft picks from their exit.

Here’s the rule via NBC Sports:

The employer-club shall be eligible to receive this Draft choice compensation if:
a. The minority employee hired as a Head Coach or Primary Football Executive has been employed by the employer-club for a minimum of two full seasons; and
b. The minority employee is not the Head Coach or Primary Football Executive of the employer-club and is hired into the same position with the new club. There can be no break in employment between clubs.

Barring some sort of disaster it seems more a matter of ‘when’ than ‘if’ Wilks is hired again as a head coach. His one-year stint in Arizona didn’t go well, but he helped guide a bad Panthers team to a 6-6 record as their interim coach to close the 2022 season.

He’s well-liked by players and he did a really nice job with the 49ers’ defense this season by making some adjustments that got them out of a rut that played an outsized role during the team’s three-game losing skid from Weeks 6-8.

There are a slew of big names and proven NFL head coaches on the market this offseason, but a strong playoff performance from the 49ers’ defense would deservedly put Wilks firmly in the mix as a head coach candidate.

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Tracking each Falcons interview for head coach vacancy

Tracking each Falcons interview request for head coach vacancy

The Atlanta Falcons fired head coach Arthur Smith after their season finale, and they have already interviewed 11 potential replacements. The team has been linked to 15 different candidates thus far.

However, as Falcons owner Arthur Blank said, there is no timetable for the search process. Stay up to date with each interview and interview request for Atlanta’s head coach vacancy using our tracker below.

Falcons request interview with 49ers DC Steve Wilks, per report

The Falcons have requested an interview with 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, per report

The Atlanta Falcons have requested an interview with San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported on Thursday morning.

Wilks served as the interim head coach of the Carolina Panthers last season after the team fired Matt Rhule. Wilks nearly landed the full-time gig in Carolina, and when he didn’t, he took a job with Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco.

The 49ers defense was dominant this season under Wilks and is a big reason why they’re considered the favorites in the NFC as the playoffs begin.

The Falcons also requested an interview with Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson on Thursday, per a report from NFL Network. Johnson is a popular choice among the fans, but it appears the team is going to take a big swing at former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.

Stay up to date with each Falcons interview request using our head coach tracker!

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Chargers request interviews with 6 head coach candidates

The Chargers wasted no time getting to business on Day 1 of the offseason as they requested interviews with six head coaching candidates.

The Chargers wasted no time getting to business on Day 1 of the offseason as they requested interviews with six head coaching candidates.

The early list includes Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken.

Johnson appears to be the hottest offensive coordinator candidate of the cycle, as he appears at the top of several teams’ odds lists. So far, he’s the only interview request candidate whose name has appeared on Chargers’ HC futures in sportsbooks. Johnson has been one of the engines in the Lions’ red-hot resurgence with Jared Goff. Playmakers like Sam LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Amon-Ra St. Brown have broken out under his watch in Detroit.

Glenn has been the defensive coordinator of the Lions for three seasons while boasting nearly a decade of coaching on his resume. He also has 15 seasons worth of NFL playing experience as a cornerback.

Wilks has head coaching experience with the Cardinals and an interim stint with Carolina. He has nearly 30 years of coaching experience between college and the NFL stints. He was the Chargers’ defensive backs coach from 2009 to 2011 before joining Ron Rivera’s staff in Carolina.

Graham has overseen the defenses of the Dolphins, Giants and Raiders. In 2023, Las Vegas finished eighth in points allowed and 11th in passing yards allowed.

Of note with Wilks, Glenn and Graham: They would fulfill the Rooney Rule requirement of interviewing external minority candidates.

After taking the Falcons to the Super Bowl as their head coach in 2016, Quinn became the defensive coordinator of the Cowboys in 2021 and quickly transformed their defense into one of the best units in the league.

Monken has revitalized the Ravens’ offense in his return to the pros behind an MVP campaign from Lamar Jackson. The two-time CFP national champion at Georgia also has offensive coordinator stops with Tampa Bay and Cleveland in the pros.

This list will presumably grow over the coming days, but these four names represent a start. Being that he’s not NFL personnel, Jim Harbaugh would not require a formal interview request.

The Chargers will also likely have a handful of names for general managers they’d like to interview. Considering the reported interest in Harbaugh, Colts’ assistant general manager Ed Dodds may make sense for an interview request.

Report: Chargers request to interview 49ers DC Steve Wilks for head coach job

At least one team has requested an interview with 49ers DC Steve Wilks for a head coach opening:

The 49ers may have to add a defensive coordinator search to their offseason docket for the second time in the last two years. NFL Media’s Mike Garafolo on Monday reported the Chargers have requested to interview San Francisco’s defensive coordinator Steve Wilks for their head coach opening.

Los Angeles fired head coach Brandon Staley after the team’s 5-9 start this year, putting them in the market to make a hire at the position.

For Wilks it would be his second opportunity to be a head coach after a disastrous first stint with the Cardinals that saw him fired after only one season.

San Francisco’s defense this season in its first under Wilks ranked No. 3 in points and No. 8 in yards. They also finished No. 4 in defensive DVOA.

His work as the Panthers interim head coach in 2022, followed by the job he did with the 49ers’ defense in 2023 certainly make him an intriguing candidate for another shot at being a head coach at the highest level.

If Wilks is hired by the Chargers, the 49ers wouldn’t get a compensatory third-round selection because he’s only been with the organization for one year, which puts him shy of the two-season threshold for the team to recoup third-round choices for losing minority coaches/front office members to head coach/general manager jobs.

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Cam Newton: David Tepper never should’ve gotten rid of Steve Wilks

Panthers great Cam Newton on David Tepper: He does not have a culture there, by no stretch of the imagination

Carolina Panthers great Cam Newton may have stated the obvious, even though he said he wouldn’t.

On Wednesday’s episode of his podcast 4th & 1, the franchise’s all-time leading passer and only Most Valuable Player gave his thoughts on the fluctuating state of his former team. He told guest Dan “Big Cat” Katz, following Monday’s firing of head coach Frank Reich, that the Panthers and owner David Tepper should’ve just made the popular choice back in January.

“Without stating the obvious, he never should’ve gotten rid of Steve Wilks,” Newton said.

Wilks, who led the Panthers to a relatively impressive 6-6 mark following last year’s axing of Matt Rhule, was passed up for the opportunity this offseason in favor of Reich. The 54-year-old Charlotte native would then move on to land the defensive coordinator gig for the San Francisco 49ers shortly after.

Newton then expanded on his thought, stating that Tepper’s Panthers lack an established culture.

“When you look at it through the lens of coaching, I think Tepper has not found out—during my time there, first time there—was the importance of continuity in a locker room,” he later added. “He flushed the toilet. Got rid of a lot of key guys—the Ryan Kalils, myself, TD [Thomas Davis] and Luke [Kuechly] was just already one of those guys that, for health reasons . . .

“And when you’re expecting a guy who doesn’t know the game off the field, and his talent hasn’t really produced anything on the field—it’s hard. It’s hard to run a locker room where you got guys that may be kinda gettin’ distracted during the year.

“And I don’t think he valued that and it shows. He does not have a culture there, by no stretch of the imagination. And his presence is more so business rather than team.”

Tepper has now fired three head coaches—Reich, Rhule and Ron Rivera—in his six-year run as owner. The Panthers, who do not have a winning record in any of those seasons, are a combined 30-63 since the team changed hands in 2018.

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The good and bad from the 49ers’ blowout win over the Jaguars

Here’s a look at all the good and bad from the 49ers’ blowout road win over the Jaguars.

Coming off the bye week, the San Francisco 49ers faced the streaking Jacksonville Jaguars in a crucial matchup. Riding a three game losing streak, Sunday’s contest in Duval County felt like. a turning point in the 2023 49ers; campaign.

With the pressure on, Kyle Shanahan, Brock Purdy and Steve Wilks answered the bell in a big way. Behind an impressive performance on both sides of the ball, the 49ers rolled to a 34-3 win on the road against the Jaguars. While snapping their losing streak, the 49ers also broke the Jags’ run of five consecutive wins.

Here’s a look at some of the good and the bad from the 49ers’ blowout win over the Jaguars on Sunday.

This post originally appeared on Niners Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

Fred Warner on adjustment with DC Steve Wilks on sideline

Fred Warner talked about how Steve Wilks’ move to the sideline went.

The 49ers defense responded well to defensive coordinator Steve Wilks’ move from the booth to the sideline. In his first game on the field instead up up in the coach’s box, San Francisco’s defense allowed only 221 yards and three points in perhaps their best performance of the season.

Team captain and defensive signal caller Fred Warner in his postgame press conference talked about the adjustment from the coach.

“It was good. It was good having him down there,” Warner said. “The communication was flawless, and yeah, it was good having him down there.”

Communication was a big key in Wilks’ decision to get out of the booth and onto the field. When he’s upstairs he has to relay play calls to a coach on the sideline who then relays the plays to Warner.  Then there’s the issue of direct communication between players and the DC.

Those issues would seem to make some of the team’s defensive woes make sense. There have been a lack of in-game adjustments and some struggles specifically with players being in the wrong spots.

Warner said the improved communication was helpful.

“I think it was pretty similar honestly,” Warner said. “I think the thing was just kinda like us just going into it we wanted to make sure the communication was good in terms of the microphone and him getting the calls to me and I thought he did a great job.”

There were other things the 49ers defense needed to do well Sunday. It was better in coverage and better at getting to the quarterback, but those were likely things fixed over the bye and not a matter of where Wilks called plays.

If the improved communication was helpful, then it’s likely the sideline move will be a permanent one for Wilks.

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