Is Steve Wilks’ seat heating up after 49ers-Vikings or is it still an overreaction?

The last time I had to do two Heat-O-Meters in succession was 2018, when the 49ers were playing for the first overall pick. But sorry, this defense has been trending the wrong direction. For starters the coverages are soft enough they give Tempur-Pedic a run for its money, the defensive line is paid a ridiculous sum and can’t seem to get much further than a Cassius Marsh-led squad did, and the defense as a whole can. not. get. off. on. 3rd. down.

It may have been an overreaction to be concerned about the weekly brain farts the defense gave up early in the season. It might have been an overreaction to see some of the bendyness when the 49ers played the Browns.

After The Minnesota VIkings to say the defense has issues is not an overreaction. The 49ers probably could have had Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator, but they decided they were too cool for him, so they got Steve Wilks. Whether or not he’s cool is up to you, but he definitely is showing some major concerns.

And the buck stops with him. The touchdown at the end of the half by the Vikings, for example, was pointed at Charvarius Ward for not knocking the ball down. I would disagree, the secondary should be coached to not do that in that situation. It’s the same reason someone is told to slide if they make a 4th-quarter game sealing interception. It’s also on Wilks for calling all those strange blitzes through the day. What the hell was that? What happened to the 4-man rushes being enough to cause pressure?

While it’s no reason to press the panic button, it does seem like a small ripple is turning into a massive tidal wave for the 49ers defense, one they don’t want to be a part of. And this was supposed to be a strength. Brock Purdy was supposed to be the guy because he had this wonderful defense. I don’t care who you are, winning a game with a defense that allowed as many yards as the 49ers did is pretty difficult to do week over week.

That of course means we get to bring back the Heat-O-Meter for the second week in a row. You know how this works, our poll is final and it allows us to see just how much we can overreact. The power of the Heat-O-Meter is unrivaled.

Honestly? The Wilks hire never made much sense with the defense the 49ers had. Right now I’m unfortunately being proven right. Wilks’ brain farts each game were concerning and indicated something was way off. Teams are going to score on the 49ers, but the method of which the touchdowns came (clumsy penalties, broken coverages, slow defensive lines, dumb blitzes) made me realize tape was coming for something like that Minnesota Vikings debacle. Maybe they can figure this out, but they better hurry it up.

I don’t think there’s time to say this is a nuclear rating, but it’s definitely getting toasty given what the 49ers are giving up and what we know this talent is capable of. It’s right now an underachieving defense with pro bowl talent.

That’s on coaching.