The San Francisco 49ers’ sent shock waves across the NFL world after announcing the sack of DC Steve Wilks following the team’s Super Bowl loss, and Stephen A. Smith who’s well known for voicing out has had something to say about it.
Smith said Wilks’ firing was ‘disgusting’. While he did offer some kind words for 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan’s coaching abilities, he was perplexed and frustrated.
After doing a solid job as the interim head coach of the Carolina Panthers but not getting the job there, Wilks was dismissed just one year into his new gig.
“When you are a leader, you have the right to look at your personnel and say, ‘I think we need to go in a different direction.’ So I’m not trying to fault Shanahan for that,” he said.
“I’m just sick and tired of folks getting certain chances that other people don’t get.”
The chance being discussed here is the chance to improve after a big-time failure. The degree to which Wilks failed is debatable, as his unit held the Chiefs to 19 points in regulation, the fewest in one of their victories in the Patrick Mahomes era.
Even after their shaky starts in their playoff games in the NFC bracket, they came through at the right times.
Smith notes how Shanahan, who he asserted is a great coach, has now had a double-digit lead in the Super Bowl three times now as a play caller (twice as the Niners’ head coach and as the Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator in that Super Bowl) and lost each one. He has had the chance to make up for his mistakes that Wilks was not afforded.
For as much as Wilks’ defense failed, he still helped get the 49ers into the Super Bowl. They fielded one of the 10-or-so best defenses and did enough to win in the playoffs despite losing star safety Talanoa Hufanga midway through the season.
Even though they lost some stability in the second half of the season, they merely fell from great to decent. Never did the 49ers’ defense gravely jeopardize the team’s ability to win.
The 49ers will now look for someone else to lead their defense and, perhaps, Shanahan will look in the mirror and try to be better.
