Santa Clara – 49ers Defensive Coordinator Stepping Onto the Sideline for Game
49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks has decided to leave the comfort of the coaches’ booth for the chaotic sideline.
According to Wilks, calling plays from the box is more convenient. But Coach Kyle Shanahan advised him that being close to the players during the game might have better advantages.
Arik Armstead, the defensive tackle and one of the 49ers’ captains, has seen benefits from his experiences with former defensive coordinators Robert Saleh and DeMeco Ryans.
Armstead remarked, “Me personally and I’ve seen other people communicating with Saleh and DeMeco. That has been helpful at times.”
Given Wilks’ background in coaching the secondary, Armstead understands why Wilks preferred an overhead view of the field. “I know coach Wilks comes from the back end, defensive backs, and I’m sure it’s great for him to be able to see the full picture on the back end, coverage-wise and stuff like that,” Armstead said.
Wilks is expected to be on the sideline for the 49ers’ Week 10 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Armstead feels that this change will provide the players with more input during the game. He said, “I think it would be great to see how it goes, so we could have more communication and talk to the leader of our defense. Even up front and at all levels of the defense, we can have better lines of communication. I can communicate what I’m seeing from the O-line and things that can be helpful.”
Wilks, in his first season as defensive coordinator, has faced scrutiny as the 49ers went into the bye week on a three-game losing streak.
Armstead believes it will take a little time to get things back to where they’ve been in the past. And he pointed out that there were calls for Saleh’s head, too, after his first couple of seasons as defensive coordinator. Eventually, Saleh and Ryans parlayed their successes with the 49ers into head-coaching jobs with the New York Jets and Houston Texans.
“If you look back at the history, people weren’t too hot on Saleh, people weren’t too hot on DeMeco when he first started,” Armstead said. “And you look at where we got, we’ve been a top-five defense ever since 2019, and we’re still that now. Our goal is to be No. 1, and we’re going to put the work in to get there.”
