49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks has been fired after the unit crumbled down the stretch, ESPN reported on Wednesday.
San Francisco's defense ranked horribly against the run in the playoffs before performing admirably in the Super Bowl. That unit — exhausted after nearly five quarters of action — gave up the game winning touchdown to Patrick Mahomes to lose the 49ers the game.
Most importantly, though, the team's run defense was a sieve for most of the season, ranking No. 26 against the run despite a stout front four and two of the best linebackers in the NFL.
The team routinely gave up chunk yards to running backs — nearly losing a game to the lowly Cardinals and getting picked apart by the Browns, Ravens and Bengals — in what was the team's biggest weakness overall.
And in the playoffs, the 49ers gave up 100+ rushing yards in both of its NFC games but found ways to claw themselves out of sticky situations. In the Super Bowl, the 49ers defense gave up 130 rushing yards — albeit, most of them to Patrick Mahomes — and held up most of the game before fatigue became a massive factor.
The inability of Wilks to save that unit is one of the head scratchers of the season despite the immense talent on that side of the ball.
Super Bowl odds changed slightly as a result of the move. The 49ers remained favorites at +500 at FanDuel. The Chiefs are still +650 in second and the Ravens are still +900.
Where the odds did move: the Lions jumped up to tie the Bills at fourth on the odds table at +1200, with the implication here that the market is potentially bearish on the 49ers' replacement options — and that it values continuity.
