According to Johnathan Jones of CBS Sports, the Atlanta Falcons have requested permission to interview San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks for their head coaching vacancy.
The Falcons have requested permission to interview 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks for their vacant head coach position, source says.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) January 11, 2024
This marks the second team officially seeking permission to interview the 49ers coordinator. The Los Angeles Chargers will interview Wilks this week.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed that other teams are inquiring about Wilks.
"I've been getting a lot of phone calls and stuff, so I know there's a lot more people interested, but you got to go through the process of formally requesting an interview, and I've only got that from the Chargers so far," Shanahan stated during a conference call.
With the 49ers having earned the top seed in the NFC and home-field advantage, they won't be playing a game this weekend. They await the weakest-seeded winner from the Wild Card round of the playoffs and will host that team at Levi's Stadium on the weekend of January 20.
If Wilks departs, Shanahan will have to find a new coordinator for the fourth consecutive year. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh left in 2021 to become the head coach of the New York Jets. The team lost offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel to the Miami Dolphins in 2022 and defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans to the Houston Texans in 2023.
Wilks assumed the role from Ryans, and under his leadership, the defense concluded the regular season ranked eighth in yards allowed, third in points allowed, third in rushing yards allowed, and 14th in passing yards allowed.