Steve Wilks’ road back: Inside 49ers DC’s path to Super Bowl

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Wearing his best suit, Steve Wilks arrived for his first NFL coaching opportunity dressed to impress. It didn’t last long.

Interviewing with then Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith and defensive coordinator Ron Rivera in early 2006 after 11 years coaching in the college ranks, Wilks made it about halfway through the conversation before his football passion took over.

After Smith asked Wilks a fairly innocuous question about a weakness in the Bears’ trademark Cover-2 zone defense, Wilks removed his coat, loosened his tie and rolled up his sleeves. He burst into detail about how it wasn’t schematics but a coaching problem, assuring Smith and Rivera he could fix it in short order.

Wilks got the job.

“Everything about him permeated confidence,” Rivera said. “If you have a guy that’s going to be confident in what he believes and what he says as a coordinator, it makes your job a lot easier. … That’s all I needed to know. And that’s always kind of been Steve’s MO.”

Wilks’ self-belief has become a necessary trait throughout a coaching career that has included 20 job titles at 16 different stops across 28 years in college and the NFL. It has carried him through dark and difficult moments to the peak of the profession. That circuitous route has brought Wilks to San Francisco for the high-profile (and high-stakes) job of 49ers defensive coordinator as they head into Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (6:30 p.m. ET, Feb. 11, CBS).

The five years prior to Wilks joining the 49ers were an up-and-down journey, starting with a one-and-done stint after going 3-13 as the Arizona Cardinals’ head coach in 2018. That resulted in Wilks joining a lawsuit initiated by Brian Flores in 2022 against the NFL for racial discrimination in which he alleges the Cardinals did not give him a “fair” opportunity because he is Black and used him as a “bridge” coach. Wilks’ portion of the suit is expected to go to arbitration, according to a source close to the case.

Wilks’ path also included a year each as the Cleveland Browns and University of Missouri defensive coordinator before going to the Carolina Panthers in 2022, where he was thrust into the role of interim coach after five games, leading them to a 6-6 record before being passed over for the head-coaching job.

Those tumultuous five years have reshaped Wilks’ coaching path, leading him to the only job he really wanted after the disappointing end to his tenure in Carolina. Wilks coveted the coordinator job in San Francisco, seeing an elite defense that could catapult him back into a lead gig if he helps the 49ers win their record-tying sixth Lombardi Trophy.

“The unfortunate part was the situation he got, it was a tough one to be in,” Rivera said. “I would’ve hoped he could have gotten a second chance sooner, but he’s had to remake himself.”

AFTER WILKS JOINED Rivera in 2006, the coaches combined for a run of success. For 10 of the 12 seasons between 2006 and 2017, Wilks worked alongside Rivera with the Bears (2006-07), San Diego Chargers (2009-10) and Panthers (2012-17).

Wilks’ ascent as Rivera’s second in command came with its share of attention. When Rivera took time away — such as when he missed the start of training camp in 2015 after his brother died — Wilks was charged with keeping the machine moving and leading practices.

Rivera promoted Wilks from defensive backs coach to assistant head coach in 2015 and defensive coordinator in 2017. At the center of Wilks’ defense was linebacker Luke Kuechly, a five-time first team All-Pro and the 2013 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Kuechly liked Wilks for his ability to balance cracking jokes and having fun with teaching on the field.