SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Steve Wilks has had a roller coaster ride in his first season as defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers. But the season will end with Wilks calling plays in the Super Bowl with the task of slowing down Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. Wilks then joined the Niners staff, while the Panthers had a 2-15 season and fired coach Frank Reich after 11 games. Wilks is now headed to his third Super Bowl as an assistant coach, having lost previous trips in the 2006 season with Chicago and the 2015 season with Carolina when he was a defensive backs coach. While Wilks is focused on the task at hand, he did take time to send out a message on social media after the Niners won the NFC title game.

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Persons: — Steve Wilks, DeMeco Ryans, Wilks, Patrick Mahomes, Jahmyr Gibbs, ” Wilks, We’ve, Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch, Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, “, ” Warner, hasn’t, ” Bosa, it’s, ”, Frank Reich, Lynch, “ He’s, ” Lynch Organizations: San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, NFC, Detroit, Niners, NFL, Ryans, 49ers, Super, Panthers, Chicago, Carolina, Twitter, Warner Locations: SANTA CLARA, Calif, takeaways, Carolina