Lynch confident Wilks still has ‘what it takes’ to lead 49ers’ defense originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area The 49ers have plenty to think after entering the bye week on a shocking losing streak, and one glaring issue over their three straight losses has been an underperforming defensive unit coached by first-year San Francisco coordinator Steve Wilks.
Despite the defense’s recent struggles — and increased scrutiny aimed at Wilks — 49ers general manager John Lynch remains confident in the team’s offseason hire.
“I keep saying it — we have a ton of belief.
There’s a reason we picked Steve Wilks,” Lynch told The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami on “The TK Show” podcast.
“I think he’s got what it takes.
We obviously all have to show that.
I know the players believe in Steve, and you can hear that in a lot of their comments and the way they feel, and that it’s on them.
“It’s incumbent upon them to play better so that everyone feels a little better.
” Lynch told Kawakami the 49ers’ defense has refocused on finding its identity during the bye week.
Following San Francisco’s third consecutive loss at the hands of the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 8, 49ers defenders put the onus on themselves to improve and refused to place any of the blame on Wilks.
Wilks is the first outside hire for defensive coordinator under coach Kyle Shanahan and Lynch, and the GM admitted their previous DC, DeMeco Ryans, was hard to replace after coming up through the 49ers’ system and achieving sustained success just like Robert Saleh before him.
But even Ryans and Saleh struggled with the 49ers, and San Francisco hired Wilks, formerly of the Carolina Panthers, because of his long career in the NFL.
“He knows the entire defense very well because he’s been a coordinator for a long time and has been in this league a long time,” Lynch told Kawakami of the veteran coach 17 years of the NFL.
“While [the secondary] is his specialty and we’re excited for him to put his mark on it, now it’s just a matter of tying it all together.
“And you you know, I really believe it’s coming.
” With a Week 10 Game in Jacksonville against the Jaguars coming up, the 49ers, at 5-3, need to get back on track.
Corrections Editing from Wilks will play a key role in that and Lynch clearly has faith in his DC.
