According to Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Los Angeles Chargers are seeking permission to interview San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks for their head coaching vacancy.
The #Chargers are requesting to interview #49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks for their vacant head coaching job, sources tell me and @RapSheet. Wilks' Niners defense was third in points allowed, eighth in yards this season after he went 6-6 as #Panthers interim HC.
Wilks is in his first season with the 49ers, assuming the defensive coordinator role after DeMeco Ryans departed to become the Houston Texans' head coach. The defensive unit under Wilks finished the regular season ranked eighth in yards allowed, third in points allowed, third in rushing yards allowed, and 14th in passing yards allowed.
The 54-year-old coach began his NFL coaching career as a defensive backs coach with the Chicago Bears in 2006. Later, he served in the same capacity with the then-San Diego Chargers (2009-11) before joining the Carolina Panthers in 2012. He progressively climbed the ranks, becoming Carolina's assistant head coach and defensive backs coach in 2015, and later, assistant head coach and defensive coordinator in 2017.
In 2018, Wilks assumed the role of head coach for the Arizona Cardinals for one season, followed by one-year stints as defensive coordinator with the Cleveland Browns (2019) and the University of Missouri (2021). He then rejoined the Panthers in 2022 as their defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach.
Last season, Wilks stepped in as Carolina's interim head coach following the firing of head coach Matt Rhule. The 49ers brought him on board in February 2023 as their defensive coordinator after the Panthers chose Frank Reich as their next head coach.
If Wilks accepts a head-coaching job this offseason, he will become the fourth 49ers coordinator to depart in as many years (Ryans - 2023, Mike McDaniel - 2022, Robert Saleh - 2021).
Steve Young: 49ers' best chance at a title may have passed
By David Bonilla
May 15
Steve Young believes the San Francisco 49ers may have missed their best opportunity for the organization's sixth Super Bowl victory. It was an uphill battle for the 49ers in the playoffs, requiring two comeback victories against perceived weaker opponents before suffering an overtime defeat in Las Vegas against the Kansas City Chiefs.
For various reasons, the Hall of Fame quarterback feels that it was head coach Kyle Shanahan's best opportunity to silence his critics and finally emerge victorious in the NFL title game.
Now, it's too early to predict how the 2024 season will unfold. The Niners could be just as competitive as last season. They might find themselves at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Sunday, February 9, 2025, competing against
Steve Young on keeping the 49ers competitive after paying Brock Purdy
By David Bonilla
May 16
The San Francisco 49ers are gearing up to elevate quarterback Brock Purdy to their highest-paid player status starting next year. Negotiations for a contract extension with the young signal-caller, entering his third NFL season, are on the horizon.
Purdy's on-field performance has far exceeded his current salary. Last season, he set a single-season franchise record with 4,280 passing yards and led the 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance while earning a base salary of $870,000. Even for the upcoming season, his salary will only bump up to $985,000. That may sound like a lot to the ordinary person, but it is only a fraction of the team's salary cap.
However, Purdy's next contract is expected to catapult him into the ranks of the NFL's highest-paid players. That title
49ers reportedly signing DL Shakel Brown after tryout
By David Bonilla
May 13
Shakel Brown was among several players who participated in a tryout in front of coaches during the San Francisco 49ers' rookie minicamp last week. Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 reports that the team was impressed enough with the defensive lineman to sign him.
Defensive lineman Shakel Brown @TROYUnews signed with #49ers after rookie minicamp tryout per a league source
An Arsenal of Weapons: The 49ers Have Quietly Become Even More Dangerous on Offense in 2024
By Don Atkinson
May 13
It's not a shock to anyone who looks back at the past two NFL seasons to contemplate that the San Francisco 49ers' offense has finally stepped out of the shadow cast by the team's ever-imposing defense. Since their 2019 Super Bowl run, players like Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw, and former 49ers Richard Sherman and Jimmie Ward have garnered most of the attention when talking about the team. That was indeed the case until 2022, when future Hall-of-Fame running back Christian McCaffrey, who came to San Francisco in a mid-season trade with the Carolina Panthers, changed the conversation. The 49ers' offense was suddenly seen not just as a semi-capable complement to a sterling defense, but rather as a unit that could put up some points, and in a dramatic way.
With the
