The decision by 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan to hire Steve Wilks as the team's next defensive coordinator has many of his players excited about what the veteran coach will bring to the organization.
Wilks, who served as the Carolina Panthers' interim head coach for the 2022 NFL season, will replace DeMeco Ryans after the 38-year-old left the Bay to take the Houston Texans head coaching position.
Christian McCaffrey played under Wilks before being traded to the 49ers last October and expressed his joy to reunite with his former coach.
"Coach Wilkes is awesome," McCaffrey told reporters Monday. "I think I could talk about Coach Wilkes a lot and just the type of man he is, but it says a lot to see how all the Panthers players reacted to him and them vouching for him to get the head job.
"That's a testament to who he is. And that explains a lot about not just the coach he is but the guy he is. So happy he's on our side."
Although McCaffrey and Wilks will reunite on the 49ers, he won't be coaching the running back on the defensive side of the ball. However, the 53-year-old will work closely with defensive lineman Arik Armstead.
Armstead has yet to play for Wilks, but he's been impressed with what he and the 49ers' defense has seen thus far from the coach and what other players around the NFL have said about him.
San Francisco 49ers
"It's been great so far," Armstead told reporters Monday. "I think this is my fifth [defensive coordinator] since I've been here. All [are] different in some ways. And, you know, I've heard when we hired him, I heard great things about him. One of my best friends, Shaq Thompson, was with him in Carolina and speaks very highly of him and told me that I was going to love him. And ever since I got a chance to meet him and been around him, that's been very true.
"He's a great leader and he's looking to come in and not change everything, what we're doing, but just add another level and take it up a notch. So I'm excited and excited to get to know him more and excited to play for him."
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Wilks will attempt to maintain the 49ers' physical reputation on a defense that added defensive tackle Javon Hargrave this offseason. San Francisco will lean on their defensive unit as they attempt to compete for a Super Bowl.