Kyle Shanahan needed just five words, to sum up the decision to fire defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, following a third Super Bowl collapse for the San Francisco 49ers head coach.
"It just ended up being not the right fit," Shanahan told reporters, at his season-ending press conference.
Shanahan on Steve Wilks: "It just ended up being not the right fit."
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) February 14, 2024
Wilks was given his walking papers after just one season, which culminated with the 49ers' defense coughing up a 16-13 second-half lead to the Kansas City Chiefs.
San Francisco's Super Bowl LVIII defeat follows the Atlanta Falcons' historic collapse from a third-quarter 28-3 lead, with Shanahan calling the offensive plays, only to fall to Tom Brady and the Patriots in Super Bowl LI, and Shanahan's 49ers coughing up a 20-10 fourth-quarter lead to Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, and the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV.
Fortunately for Shanahan, the "right fit" to maximize the All-Pro talent at all three levels of the 49ers' defense just happens to be available, and has the experience of coaching in nine Super Bowls as a head coach with six rings on his finger.
As Shanahan looks to finally break through the glass ceiling he keeps butting his head against, to become the second half of the first father-son duo to win a Super Bowl, the 49ers' head coach should explore Bill Belichick's interest in San Francisco's defensive coordinator job.
Why Bill Belichick Makes Sense For the 49ers
Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images
There might not be a more talented defense than the one the 49ers will enter the 2024 season with.
Nick Bosa is a former Defensive Player of The Year, who is in the conversation for the award every season, If the 49ers can retain Chase Young, San Francisco would boast one of the top pass-rush duos in the league, meanwhile, Fred Warner is among the premier players at his position, and the secondary is as opportunistic and stingy as they come.
If there were ever a defense begging for a tactician such as Belichick to elevate it to new heights, it's the 49ers. Meanwhile, San Francisco would be the most gifted defense Belichick would hold the reins to since the 1986 Giants.
All of this is predicated on Belichick's ego allowing him to take a defensive coordinator job, but if he is open to spending a season distancing himself from a disastrous final three seasons in New England, in a supporting role, the 49ers' situation might be the best in all phases for all parties involved.
Shanahan, after a pair of Super Bowl berths and three NFC Championship Game appearances, isn't anywhere near any sort of hot seat, which would provide the stability a head coach would need to invite a legendary figure such as Belichick onto his coaching staff without needing to feel added pressure or spend a season looking over his shoulder.
Meanwhile, Belichick's choices at the moment appear to be taking a season off aboard "VIII Rings", his yacht, or perhaps at the desk of an NFL studio show for the 2024 season. However, if Shanahan comes calling, if Belichick has designs on coaching again in 2025 and beyond, taking the 49ers' defensive coordinator job might be the quickest path to opening up those opportunities.
