SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks on Wednesday, three days after losing the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Coach Kyle Shanahan announced the decision to move on after one season with Wilks in charge of the defense. Shanahan called it a “really tough decision” but said he wants to find a coordinator who was a better scheme fit for the talent on San Francisco’s defense.

“We felt pretty strongly that this was the decision that was best for our organization,” he said. “Even though it was one I didn’t want to make, it was something that once I realized that a different direction was what’s best for our organization, it’s something that I have to do.”

Shanahan hired Wilks after losing DeMeco Ryans, who was hired as head coach in Houston after helping San Francisco field the top defense in the league in 2022.

Shanahan wanted to keep the same system that had been successful, and Wilks had the difficult task of trying to add his own wrinkles to an unfamiliar scheme.

“That was the hardest part. I knew that was a challenge,” Shanahan said.

CHIEFS: Travis Kelce knows he behaved badly during Super Bowl 58 on Sunday and admitted that his sideline bump of his Coach Andy Reid was “definitely unacceptable” on a podcast alongside his brother Jason Kelce,

“I can’t get that fired up to the point where bumping Coach (Reid) and it’s getting him off balance and stuff,” Travis said. “When he stumbled, I was like: ‘Aw, (expletive)’ in my head.”

CBS cameras caught an animated Travis Kelce yelling and making contact with the unsuspecting Reid after Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco lost a red-zone fumble in the second quarter of the Chiefs’ eventual 25-22 OT win over the San Francisco 49ers. Initially, Kelce was upset that he wasn’t in the game when the momentum-shifting play occurred.

The coach laughed off the incident postgame and told reporters that the 34-year-old four-time All-Pro caught him “off balance.”

“He was really coming over, just going, ‘Just put me in, I’ll score,” the coach said after securing his second consecutive Super Bowl title and third overall.

• The Chiefs announced a contract extension for Steve Spagnuolo that rewards the defensive coordinator for a superb season that culminated in a championship. The Chiefs’ defense was crucial to that effort throughout the season and postseason.

Spagnuolo is the first NFL coordinator to win four Super Bowl titles.

COMMANDERS: The team on Wednesday named Lance Newmark as assistant GM, reporting directly to recently hired General Manager Adam Peters.

Newmark joins Washington after spending the past 26 years with the Detroit Lions, the previous two serving as senior director of player personnel.