Steve Wilks Will be on the Sidelines When 49ers Face Jaguars

Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks is moving from the booth to the sidelines when the 49ers face the Jaguars.

Kyle Shanahan confirmed the move on Wednesday at his press conference.

"We're gonna put him on that field this week. It's something we've talked about for a little bit. I think there's pluses and minuses to it. We'll see what we like about it this week." said Shanahan.

Wilks is the first defensive coordinator the 49ers have had that calls plays from the booth under Shanahan. In the past, Robert Saleh and DeMeco Ryans stayed there and it always worked well for the 49ers. Going into the Bye week, it was a topic of discussion that moving Wilks to the sidelines could resolve the woes of the defense.

"I kind of want him to be down and be near our players a little bit," Shanahan said. "They've had that more just with the linebacker communication in the past. And I want him to be down there so he can talk to the guys more."

This move is an act of desperation. Wilks' location has nothing to do with how poorly run the scheme and play calling is. It has to do with his process. Clearly, this move was forced by Shanahan since Wilks has been thorough in the past as to why he likes being in the box. And it's not like Wilks is going to tell his boss "no" to the decision.

Basically, Shanahan is hoping Wilks is a plug and play fix here like he would a player. By simply moving him from the booth to the sidelines, he is hoping that will suddenly remedy everything if not most of the issues. Perhaps it will as the player can better relay what they are seeing on the field. I also wouldn't put it past the players having a hand in this move either.

Like Shanahan said, we'll see if this move fixes anything.