Mizzou fans call for Tigers to fire DC Steve Wilks after awful first half

Mizzou lost DC Ryan Walters to Illinois this offseason. Head coach Eli Drinkwitz hired Steve Wilks — a former NFL coordinator and head coach — to replace him.

So far, that match has not worked. Like, at all. Wilks’ defense entered Saturday’s game with the Vols with the nation’s second-worst run defense.

Midway through the second quarter, the Vols already had 35 points and 170 rushing yards. Naturally, Tiger fans weren’t too happy with that effort.

As you can see below, Tiger fans took to Twitter to call for Mizzou to fire Wilks:

Hey @CoachDrinkwitz you still happy with your decision to hire Steve Wilks ? I’ll be waiting for your response seeing as you like to get on Twitter

— Mark Manning®️ (@MarkManning02) October 2, 2021

https://twitter.com/Crowther_Jimmy/status/1444351164254916613

https://twitter.com/gator_spur/status/1444350684598571009

I think Steve Wilks’s scheme of having all 11 Missouri defenders turn and run toward their own goal line at the snap is problematic.

— Kurtis Seaboldt ? (@KSeaboldt) October 2, 2021

So does Steve Wilks get fired at half time or does he make it the rest of the game? This is the worst @MizzouFootball defense in a LONG time

— Stephen Boswell (@SJBoswell3) October 2, 2021

Ok yeah fire Steve Wilks

This is pretty ridiculous

— TexMiz ENTERPRISES (@TexmizE) October 2, 2021

My. God. Please fire Steve Wilks into the sun. #mizzou

— Ernie W. Webb III (@Ernie_Webb_3) October 2, 2021

https://twitter.com/buccero_grant/status/1444349598634491905

Drink had all the momentum in the world…and then he hired Steve Wilks

— Brian (@BrianMcGannon) October 2, 2021

I just want to remind the world that Steve Wilks is the highest paid assistant coach in Missouri history…

— Blake Lewis IV (@BlakeLewisIV) October 2, 2021

Probably Steve Wilks isn't gonna work out, don't waste multiple years before realizing it

— Brenden Schaeffer? (@bschaeffer12) October 2, 2021

Obviously, this isn’t all Wilks’ fault. He’s not the one on the field missing tackles. But, he’s the one who is responsible for getting the best out of his players, and that doesn’t seem to be happening this year.

Adam Spencer

Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 14 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.