Niners Nation
This is a San Francisco 49ers site, but this discussion is about the New York Jets, who fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks on Monday. You remember Wilks for his one-year stint as the 49ers’ defensive coordinator during the 2023–2024 season—the same year they went to the Super Bowl. The 49ers dismissed Wilks following the Super Bowl loss.
Wilks didn’t make it to the end of the season at his next stop as defensive coordinator with the Jets; they have three games left. Most recently, the Jets lost 48-20 to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It’s important to note that last year the Jets also fired Robert Saleh as their head coach. If you watched the Jets (and the 49ers), you’d realize Saleh was far, far from the problem. Was Steve Wilks an issue? The Jets’ defense is in the back half of the league in several categories. They also allowed 26.8 points per game.
Is that a fault of Wilks? Well, he certainly doesn’t have Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, and others on his defense now. Saleh doesn’t have them either, and the 49ers are still doing better than the Jets in almost every category.
When Wilks was fired, many saw him as a scapegoat for the Super Bowl loss. That was a bit strong; he simply didn’t work out with the scheme the 49ers were trying to run. When you are getting called out by your head coach, something might not be right. It was an obvious decision given all the friction that happened during the regular season. Somehow, the loss of safety Talanoa Hufanga was enough for the entire defensive unit to decline, which didn’t make much sense. Then there’s the time out in the Super Bowl.
Jets Head coach Aaron Glenn said Chris Harris will be the interim coordinator. This was also Glenn’s first year with the team. So Wilks wasn’t given much time to gel with the new coaching staff either.
Does this vindicate the 49ers’ reason for firing Wilks? Or is this just the Jets being the Jets? Wilks had a cheat code with the 49ers defense in 2023, yet there were still some bizarre flaws.
