The San Francisco 49ers emerged from the bye week with a big change as head coach Kyle Shanahan announced that defensive coordinator Steve Wilks would move from the locker room to the sideline starting Week 10 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Wilks, a first-year coordinator with the 49ers, experienced various problems during the first eight weeks of the season, which were reflected in the team's losses and painted the coordinator as a scapegoat for the problems.

While there were questions about Wilks' issues from a schematic perspective, there were execution issues at all three levels of the field that left a lot to be desired during the defensive losses.

However, is moving Wilks to the sideline the right move to solve the 49ers' defensive woes?

The positive

Wilks' move to the sideline is reminiscent of what the 49ers had with their last two defensive coordinators, DeMeco Ryans and Robert Saleh: a communicative presence who can speak directly to players face-to-face.

Shanahan cited a desire to better communicate with the linebackers as the reason for relegating Wilks to the sideline.

“I want him to be on the ground and be close to our players for a little bit. They've had that more with linebacker communication in the past. I want him to be down there so he can talk to the guys a little bit more,” Shanahan said.

But more importantly, in my opinion, this move allows Wilks to communicate more directly and consistently with Shanahan, allowing the head coach to have more influence on the defense as the 49ers try to get the game back in order in that regard.

The negatives

While many assume that a move to the sideline could give the 49ers the energy boost they need, I'm not sure Wilks' personality is on the level of a Robert Saleh or DeMeco Ryan.

Yes, Wilks can certainly be a leader, but it appears that his form of leadership comes in a more traditional manner, so it will be interesting to see how the dynamic changes with the change.

The biggest downside to pushing Wilks to the sideline, however, is that it takes him away from the place where he feels most comfortable as a game coordinator.

During the offseason, Wilks shared that he preferred the box coach, which is why the 49ers went in that direction in the first place.

Additionally, Shanahan himself revealed on Wednesday that he believes it's best to train from the box, so the switch is admittedly a bit confusing.

“I love being in the box. I think this is the best place. I feel like you guys would judge me too harshly if I went up there. If it ever gets cold enough, it could happen to me. I like a chair and a desk and lots of things to write on and things like that,” Shanahan said. “I had to do this for nine years before I got here. I was only in the box for one year, my last year, so I was in the box eight times before that. Both have their pros and cons, so you usually go with your preference.”

Wilks' whereabouts were not the defense's main problem; The schematic problems and the execution were, and they have not been solved with the move to the sidelines.

Do I think the defense can turn things around? Absolutely, but I'm concerned that a move out of the box would be the main reason for this.

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• Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff WriterNov 8, 2023, 05:45 PM ET

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  Nick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL at ESPN since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In his 10 years with the company, Nick has led ESPN’s coverage of the Niners’ 2019 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick’s protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam’s subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team’s relocation and stadium saga. You can follow Nick via Twitter @nwagoner

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Amidst a surge of defensive struggles over their past three games, the San Francisco 49ers have been searching for answers to get back to the dominant unit that spearheaded a 5-0 start.

The Niners made their biggest move last week, trading a compensatory third-round pick to the Washington Commanders for defensive end Chase Young. They’re making another, much smaller move this week in the form of an elevator ride.

San Francisco defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, who is in his first year with the team, will move from the coach’s booth upstairs to field level to call Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, coach Kyle Shanahan announced Wednesday.

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“We’re going to put him on the field this week,” Shanahan said. “[It’s] something we’ve talked about for a little bit … There are pluses to it and minuses to it, but we’ll see what we like about this week.”

The move comes after the Niners’ three-game losing streak in which the defense has dropped from one of the best in the league to one of the worst.

Through the first five games, San Francisco was first in the NFL in points allowed per game (13.6), third in yards allowed (266.8 per game), fifth in defensive expected points added (33.98) and sixth in takeaways (9). Over the ensuing three weeks, the Niners dropped to 24th (24), 30th (395.3), 31st (-5.5) and tied for 13th (4), respectively.

Not coincidentally, the Niners lost all three of those games. They’ve struggled to stop the run, haven’t consistently pressured or sacked the quarterback and have failed to tackle consistently.

After a 31-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 29, Niners linebacker Fred Warner shrugged off the idea that the blame should fall at Wilks’ feet for those issues, noting that the coordinator was “the least of my worries” but acknowledging that there’s still a learning curve for Wilks with a new team.

Through eight weeks, the game-day process has been for Wilks to relay the call from the booth to linebackers coach Johnny Holland on the sideline, who then passes it on to Warner on the field. Warner then shares the playcall with the team.

Presumably, Wilks will now directly communicate the call to Warner since he’s on the sideline (Wilks is schedule to speak to Bay Area media on Thursday), but either way, Warner thinks the move can only help.

“I think it will be a flawless transition, whether it be him giving the calls or staying with Johnny,” Warner said. “Having him down there connecting with us on the field is going to be great. … I think more so than anything, I think him just wanting to be down there as our leader of the group just to be down there and make adjustments on the fly, when need be, just being down there with us, looking at us in our eye when we’re down there, just little things like that [will help].”

Niners defensive coordinators had called the game from the field since Shanahan arrived in 2017. Former coordinators Robert Saleh and DeMeco Ryans both had a background working with linebackers and brought energy and enthusiasm to the sidelines.

But Wilks arrived with a history of working with defensive backs and said in the spring that he tends to get too excited when working from the sideline. Now, he will try something new as the Niners are willing to make any move — big or small — to get their season back on track.

“I kind of want him to be down and be near our players a little bit,” Shanahan said. “They’ve had that more with just the linebacker communication in the past and I want him to be down there so he can talk to guys a little bit more.”

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San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks manned the sideline for the first time and the results were immediate in Week 10’s win.

The San Francisco 49ers got their season back on track with a dominant Week 10 performance, defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-3 on the road. Was a key change involving defensive coordinator Steve Wilks the reason for the Niners’ defense having its best game so far?

During the week, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan announced that Wilks would be coaching from the team’s sideline, rather than up in a box with other coaches.

Linebacker Fred Warner lauded the move after the win, telling reporters “It was good having him down there. The communication was flawless,” per KNBR’s Jake Hutchinson.

It had been a rough stretch for the 49ers, and specifically the defense. The team hit its Week 9 bye on a three-game losing streak after starting the season 5-0.

San Francisco surrendered 22 points to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 7. They were worse in Week 8, giving up 31 points in a two-touchdown loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

But behind Wilks’ new positioning, the unit righted the ship against Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars. Lawrence finished the game 17-for-29 for just 185 yards and no touchdowns with two interceptions. He also lost a fumble after a strip sack.

The 49ers’ pass rush got to Lawrence five times, with DE Nick Bosa and DT Javon Hargrave each registering a sack and a half.

Chalk up the decision by Shanahan as a wise one, at least after one week. If Week 10’s win is any indication, having Wilks on the sideline provided a valuable jolt and got the Niners back in the discussion of NFC contenders.

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The 49ers made the decision to move their coordinator from the booth to the sidelines.

• By
  
  RohanChakravarthi
  
• on November 9, 2023 2:50 pm

The San Francisco 49ers came out of the bye week with a major change, as head coach Kyle Shanahan announced that defensive coordinator Steve Wilks would move from the booth to the sidelines starting against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 10.

Wilks, a first-year coordinator with the 49ers, has experienced a variety struggles through the first eight weeks of the season, which have boiled over in the team’s losses, painting the coordinator as a scapegoat for the issues.

While questions have arisen about Wilks’s issues from a schematic standpoint, there have been execution issues at all three levels of the field, leaving much to be desired defensively during the losses.

However, is moving Wilks to the sidelines the correct move for solving the 49ers defensive issues?

The positives

Moving Wilks to the sidelines is reminiscent of what the 49ers had with their last two defensive coordinators in DeMeco Ryans and Robert Saleh: a communicative presence that can directly speak with the players face-to-face.

Shanahan illustrated the desire to communicate better with the linebackers as the reason for moving Wilks down to the sidelines.

“I kind of want him to be down and be near our players a little bit. They’ve had that more just with the linebacker communication in the past. I want him to be down there so he can talk to guys a little bit more,” Shanahan said.

But, more importantly in my opinion, the move allows Wilks to directly communicate with Shanahan more consistently, allowing the head coach to have a bigger input with the defense as the 49ers try and right the ship on that end.

The negatives

While many may assume that a move to the sideline may be the energizer that the 49ers need, I’m not sure that Wilks’s personality is on the level of a Robert Saleh or DeMeco Ryans.

Yes, Wilks can certainly be a leader, but it appears that his form of leadership comes in a more traditional way, which is why it’ll be interesting to see how the dynamic changes with the move.

However, the main negative of placing Wilks on the sidelines is taking him away from the place he feels most comfortable as a playcalling coordinator.

In the offseason, Wilks shared how his preference was the coach from the box, which is why the 49ers went in that direction in the first place.

Additionally, Shanahan himself revealed on Wednesday that he feels coaching from the box is the best place to be, which is why the move is admittedly a little confusing.

“I love being in the box. I think that’s the best spot. I feel like you guys would judge me too hard if I went up there. If it ever gets cold enough, I might be. I like a chair and a desk and a lot of stuff to write down and things like that,” Shanahan said. “I had to do this for nine years before I got here. I was only in the box one year, my last year, so it was eight on the field before that. There’s pluses and minuses to both, so you usually go with your preference.”

Wilks’s location wasn’t the main issue with the defense; the schematic problems and the execution were, and those aren’t solved with the move to the sidelines.

Do I believe the defense can turn it around? Absolutely, but I have my reservations that a move from the box would be the primary reasons why.

Read more

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Nick WagonerESPN Staff WriterNov 8, 2023, 05:45 PM ET4 Minute Read

McAfee: 49ers have gone all in with Chase Young

Pat McAfee expects Chase Young will have a huge impact on the 49ers.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Amidst a surge of defensive struggles over their past three games, the San Francisco 49ers have been searching for answers to get back to the dominant unit that spearheaded a 5-0 start.

The Niners made their biggest move last week, trading a compensatory third-round pick to the Washington Commanders for defensive end Chase Young. They’re making another, much smaller move this week in the form of an elevator ride.

San Francisco defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, who is in his first year with the team, will move from the coach’s booth upstairs to field level to call Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, coach Kyle Shanahan announced Wednesday.

“We’re going to put him on the field this week,” Shanahan said. “[It’s] something we’ve talked about for a little bit … There are pluses to it and minuses to it, but we’ll see what we like about this week.”

The move comes after the Niners’ three-game losing streak in which the defense has dropped from one of the best in the league to one of the worst.

Through the first five games, San Francisco was first in the NFL in points allowed per game (13.6), third in yards allowed (266.8 per game), fifth in defensive expected points added (33.98) and sixth in takeaways (9). Over the ensuing three weeks, the Niners dropped to 24th (24), 30th (395.3), 31st (-5.5) and tied for 13th (4), respectively.

Not coincidentally, the Niners lost all three of those games. They’ve struggled to stop the run, haven’t consistently pressured or sacked the quarterback and have failed to tackle consistently.

After a 31-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 29, Niners linebacker Fred Warner shrugged off the idea that the blame should fall at Wilks’ feet for those issues, noting that the coordinator was “the least of my worries” but acknowledging that there’s still a learning curve for Wilks with a new team.

Through eight weeks, the game-day process has been for Wilks to relay the call from the booth to linebackers coach Johnny Holland on the sideline, who then passes it on to Warner on the field. Warner then shares the playcall with the team.

Presumably, Wilks will now directly communicate the call to Warner since he’s on the sideline (Wilks is schedule to speak to Bay Area media on Thursday), but either way, Warner thinks the move can only help.

“I think it will be a flawless transition, whether it be him giving the calls or staying with Johnny,” Warner said. “Having him down there connecting with us on the field is going to be great. … I think more so than anything, I think him just wanting to be down there as our leader of the group just to be down there and make adjustments on the fly, when need be, just being down there with us, looking at us in our eye when we’re down there, just little things like that [will help].”

Niners defensive coordinators had called the game from the field since Shanahan arrived in 2017. Former coordinators Robert Saleh and DeMeco Ryans both had a background working with linebackers and brought energy and enthusiasm to the sidelines.

But Wilks arrived with a history of working with defensive backs and said in the spring that he tends to get too excited when working from the sideline. Now, he will try something new as the Niners are willing to make any move — big or small — to get their season back on track.

“I kind of want him to be down and be near our players a little bit,” Shanahan said. “They’ve had that more with just the linebacker communication in the past and I want him to be down there so he can talk to guys a little bit more.”

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Prior to the Pittsburgh Steelers win over the Tennessee Titans on Thursday Night Football, the team announced that oft-criticized offensive coordinator Matt Canada would leave the booth and call plays from the sideline. The San Francisco 49ers apparently like that idea and are doing the same with defensive coordinator Steve Wilks.

The Steelers’ move paid off immediately. They scored a touchdown on their opening drive for the first time this season. It was just their second offensive touchdown in the first quarter of any game. To be fair, they still only scored 20 points in the game but that was enough for the win.

The 49ers are, obviously, hoping for similar results — particularly the winning part. After starting 5-0, they’ve lost three straight games. They entered the bye week at 5-3 and return with a road game at the 6-2 Jacksonville Jaguars.

Though, the defense isn’t the main problem. But, it has regressed over the three losses. They averaged 13.6 points per game allowed in their five wins. That numbered ballooned to 24 points in the three losses.

Defensive Coordinator Steve Wilks of the San Francisco 49ers talks to the defense in the locker room. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)

Those stats require context, though. First, they gave up 31 points to the Cincinnati Bengals in the loss just before the bye week. That’s the most they’ve allowed all season.

Plus, they gave up 22 to the Minnesota Vikings prior to the Kirk Cousins injury. Their early-season success was partially inflated with wins over the Steelers, Giants, and Cardinals. Not exactly high-powered offenses.

Although, they did hold the Cowboys to 10 points in the 42-10 drubbing on Sunday Night Football just prior to the slide.

Still, head coach Kyle Shanahan clearly wants to shake things up a bit. It worked — to some degree — for the Pittsburgh Steelers, so why not give it a shot and move Steve Wilks down to field-level?

The NFL is a copycat league.

Usually that means offensive and defensive schemes, but why can’t it mean physical locations of coordinators?

Follow Dan Zaksheske on X – formerly known as Twitter: @RealDanZak

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When Good Karma Brands reached an agreement with The Walt Disney Company to acquire and operate three ESPN-affiliated radio stations on the AM band in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, it represented the expansion of the relationship between the two parties. Good Karma Brands had purchased ESPN Milwaukee from The E.W. Scripps Company in a separate transaction in 2018, and it had also worked with Disney under a digital sales agreement. This past July, the enterprise reached a deal to manage the sales operations for ESPN Radio and its podcasts, affirming the trust and reputation that had been built between the two companies over the years.

ESPN affirms that audio remains critical within its sports media portfolio, and while it still has control over the content, distribution and marketing aspects of the business, there are many new sectors in the purview of Good Karma Brands. As a result, Steve Politziner, president of Good Karma Brands, worked with his organizational development team to implement a new training mechanism to ensure widespread proficiency.

The company distributes a daily quiz, usually consisting of five to six questions, that incorporates information from ESPN hosts, programs, product offerings and best practices. A wide swath of the 300-plus employees who work for the brand are required to complete the exam by the close of business, granting leadership an opportunity to measure awareness and expertise.

“It’s basically, ‘Hey, every day, you have an open book test,’ and it forces people to go in,” Politziner said. “If they don’t know the answers, talk to a teammate; research them on Google. We don’t mind if they do that – we just want to make sure they’re putting a commitment into being an expert in understanding what they’re representing and understanding the company.”

Politziner, along with company founder and chief executive officer Craig Karmazin, have worked to institute a professional culture at the entity. The business partners were childhood friends and classmates, both of whom were infatuated by sports and surrounding media coverage. Moreover, they both had early exposure to the business world – Politziner’s father, Phil, started an accounting firm; while Karmazin’s father, Mel, managed several national broadcast entities – and possessed legitimate interest in progress and innovation.

After working as a financial analyst for nearly a year following graduation from Lehigh University, Politziner was approached by Karmazin to form a business partnership. Karmazin had recently purchased three radio stations in the Madison, Wisc. metropolitan area, and he needed assistance in managing the day-to-day operations and growing the brand. Upon their agreement, Politziner became the company’s vice president and assumed day-to-day business responsibilities while hosting a three-hour radio show with Karmazin in the afternoons.

“It put us on the road, attending some of the biggest national events, whether it was through covering the [Wisconsin] Badgers or taking the show on the road to Radio Row and Final Fours and so many sporting events,” Politziner explained. “[That] is where we forged a lot of early relationships with people in the industry, ESPN and the like.”

A few years after launching the Wisconsin stations, Good Karma Brands began a lease of 760 AM in West Palm Beach, Fla., which it converted to an ESPN Radio affiliate. Employees continued to execute multiple roles, with Politziner and Karmazin moving their radio program to the outlet to aid in creating a compelling and entertaining on-air product.

“Being on the air gave [us] a great chance to have kind of a never-ending focus group about what really motivates fans – what motivates them to patronize an advertising partner; what motivates them to call or engage or champion you in the community,” Politziner said. “It’s sort of never-ending case studies that went on in those years in Madison and West Palm.”

Through interactions with businesspeople and consumers, Politziner was able to gain a more comprehensive understanding about what appealed to those within each marketplace. Rather than conflating distinct marketplaces to fit one programming approach, the company created and polished different ways of doing business in each locale. When he joined the brand, Politziner knew that he could trust Karmazin, who he affirms has always retained advanced intellect and shrewd foresight.

 “If he were an attorney, he would be the attorney I would want to hire,” Politziner said of Karmazin. “….If he were a promotions director at a radio station, he would be the promotions director I would want. He has a real combination of a strategic mind, a creative mind and a business mind.”

The localization of the company in Madison and West Palm Beach granted Politziner invaluable chances to build his network of contacts and assume accountability. It also provided him an opportunity to sharpen his skills as a leader and media executive.

Politziner recently divulged his process when Sam Pines, senior vice president and partner at the company, requested him to release a guest piece for his newsletter, “Time to Win.” Known as “The Politziner P’s,” the principles are intended to provide a roadmap for employees to master the craft of networking in a public forum.

“Effectively, these are just the behaviors that I have practiced and exercised for years and years when I’ve been out and about,” Politziner said. “At the end of the day, all we have is our time, so I’m truly about, ‘What is the best way to maximize it?’”

In reviewing the roots of Good Karma Brands, terrestrial radio has been critical in growth and acquisitions. The company remains bullish on the future of the medium; however, the path forward in New York City will look and sound different in 2024, and produce ample amounts of chatter across the market and the broadcasting industry.

According to Good Karma’s internal data, 60% of ESPN New York’s listenership takes place outside of terrestrial radio. That was a key factor in the company’s recent decision to forsake the existing 98.7 WEPN-FM signal. The change will become official at the end of August 2024, positioning the New York metropolitan area as a metropolis with only one sports talk radio station on the FM dial.

The ESPN affiliate first took the air on the signal when The Walt Disney Company and Emmis Communications agreed to terms on a 12-year deal to lease 98.7 FM, initially worth about $8.5 million annually with a 3.5% rate appreciation. Good Karma Brands, which assumed control of station operations in 2021 through a local marketing agreement (LMA), believes it can continue to maintain its signature programming and brand affinity within the marketplace despite the impending absence of ESPN New York content on the FM dial.

“We’re distributed through so many different vehicles, most notably the successful growth of our ESPN [New York] app and the ability to stream so [much] of our programming and our play-by-play via that mechanism,” Politziner said. “We really feel that in today’s world – doing anything that might create financial challenges where we feel so good about the way that we’re distributing ourselves and that audiences are finding [us] – we just felt that was the most fiscally responsible decision to our markets and to our team.”

Although the lease has yet to expire, Good Karma Brands is standing firm on its decision and made the announcement to give proper notice to all parties impacted. ESPN New York is the radio broadcast home of the New York Jets and airs New York Islanders games, most of which are moved to the AM signal when there are other broadcasting conflicts.

“We know that our advertising partners are going into annual commitments or annual investment [and] our play-by-play partners are making their plans,” Politziner said. “We just feel like in the spirit of transparency, we wanted to make sure that that was out there.”

The outlet also produces and disseminates the MSG Radio Network, which consists of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers. Both teams will remain on ESPN New York without the FM signal and affirmed they are “all in,” a sentiment Politziner feels is a validation of the decision. Moreover, Good Karma Brands has received various inquiries from other professional sports teams over the last several weeks, which could presumably lead to the expansion of its broadcast offerings.

“The distribution mechanisms have evolved,” Politziner explained, “and what might have been crucial as far as a particular medium some years ago is no longer the case with the advent of digital streaming and other options.”

Good Karma Brands is investing in a promotional campaign with the intent to direct listeners to the ESPN New York app and 1050 AM, some of which will likely occur by presence of live game broadcasts. Fans of the local teams are accustomed to listening to the game on different platforms, but a challenge lies in bringing users to the weekday programming lineup, which was recently revamped at the local and national levels. Evidently so, ESPN New York exists beyond terrestrial radio, and its digital expansion is a particular point of emphasis as this future approaches closer to fruition.

“ESPN recognizes that Good Karma has been a best-in-class operator and affiliate at the local level, and our nimbleness allows us to do a really good job on their behalf,” Politziner said. “The other thing I’ll say is that radio is so meaningful to the way people feel about ESPN [through] that emotional connection, as well as an awesome promotional vehicle for all other things ESPN that can drive back to ESPN.com [and] drive back to the TV network.”

ESPN New York has a lineup of experienced and adept personalities throughout the lineup, including The Michael Kay Show, Rick DiPietro and Dave Rothenberg, and Bart Scott and Alan Hahn. These dayparts provide consumers with conversations about pertinent sports topics, and their exclusivity, allure and stability adds value amid a seismic change.

“You can’t get them anywhere else outside of ESPN New York doing their talk shows,” Politziner said. “They’re going to find us, so I think people really know that we have the pulse of the fans in New York. Our team does an excellent job, and play-by-play partners know that’s a great alignment.”

No matter how listeners might access the content, authenticity and connectivity remain at the core of sports media. The industry ultimately serves as a conduit between fans and the players, teams and leagues they have come to love, with commentators and insiders precipitating understanding and encouraging friendly conjecture through reporting and opinions.

Radio has always provided listeners with genuine, real-time reactions and the ability to add to the conversation. There are advantages and disadvantages to every medium, and the nuanced permutations accentuate the distinct qualities that make them appealing. Politziner and Good Karma Brands seek to position themselves to be able to over-deliver and prove they are worth doing business with day in and day out.

“There’s no cookie-cutter formula, but what’s most important is a relatability for your audience and an appreciation that, every day, people have a choice to make on where they spend their time,” Politziner said. “If you always keep in the back of your mind that every single day, you are re-earning your audience and re-earning your fans, having that mentality, I think, goes a long way towards success.”

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Steve Jobs forever changed the world of communications. The opera, “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs,” composed by Mason Bates with libretto by Mark Campbell, opened at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House and brought the story of how Jobs gave birth to the computer with panache.

Although the opera’s premiere occurred in Santa Fe in 2017, and was the most popular new opera in Santa Fe Opera’s history, this was the Bay Area’s first view of it. “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs” is a testament to Jobs as a California native and cultural icon. It also shows how opera is a smart forum for exploration. However, navigating a deep dive into who Steve Jobs was while fully-satisfying one’s consciousness with technology’s evolving revolution, it did not.

Who Was Steve Jobs?

Like Gutenberg, how does one person influence everyone in the world? This degree of impact is profound. To go and sit in an opera house and surrender to an aesthetic experience of the streets of San Francisco during the Folsom Street Fair, a significant expression of the city’s rainbow diversity and on the eve of the highest holy day in the Jewish world, audience members follow the story of a visionary who sent the world on a new course, like a comet. Steve Jobs is portrayed as an ordinary man using his extraordinary creativity to pursue a strange trajectory from which our society continues to move in struggle, protest, and further dynamic contest. The opera was set at the time when he himself had to confront his own mortality and circle back to the events that shaped his personal and professional life.

Composer Mason Bates was drawn to Steve Jobs as the subject for an opera because opera “can illuminate the interior thoughts of different characters simultaneously through the juxtaposition of individual themes. That makes it an ideal medium to explore a man who revolutionized how we communicate.” Librettist Mark Campbell also wrote in the program notes, “Learning that Jobs was a Buddhist his entire adult life lead me to the ‘ensō,’ the circle that is drawn in Japanese calligraphy to express enlightenment. I connected that with Jobs’ habit of taking long walks and the Zen practice of pacing in a circular pattern called ‘kinhin’ and began to develop a story in which Steve ‘circles back’ on his life. The title actually refers less to the revolution Jobs helped create in technology rather than the kinhin of self-reflection that propels the story.”

Staging the Machine of Machines

Conductor Michael Christie led the 65 member orchestra, including acoustic guitar and one synthesizer played by composer Mason Bates himself. The music created the perfect texture for storytelling. With ten scenes, plus prologue, no intermission, and in keeping with its subject, the production flashed and clicked through an orchestral score that both stimulated and provoked its subject in multiple ways. The stage’s six panels and lighting were made possible by twelve carpenters plus four members of props and sixteen stagehands. The panels had built-in lights inside and acted as surfaces for front projections. Lighting on stage was composed of thin LED tape and the effects were notably manipulated live.

The singing itself was not what made this opera stirring. It was the close following of Jobs’ life story that made this opera, beginning in Palo Alto and eventually becoming the voice of the second quarter of the 20th century and the leader of the electronic voice of the 21st century.  Still, the outstanding vocal performance was by Sasha Cooke as Laurene, the wife of Jobs, who appeared in an early scene to hear the younger Jobs lecture. Cooke sang with body and conviction. She was easy to believe. Her voice convinced with its lustrous sound, rich and ardent, its low registers and its high. Sasha Cooke was surprising. She was a solid and warm counterpoint to the ever-moving, ever-stimulated Jobs. Her performance resonated with what remained of humanity in the midst of the frenzy of electronic life.

Baritone John Moore performed the role of Steve Jobs. He looked the part, wearing Jobs’ characteristic black turtleneck and jeans. He had the characteristic spectacles and moved with quick, electric steps, deftly switching gears in the way he did apparently, in mind. Moore conveyed the drama Jobs was going through, and he did much to “tell” us what a stimulating challenge it was. Often it was hard to hear him over the orchestra. Sometimes it was easier to follow by reading the supertitles.

Soprano Olivia Smith as Chrisann Brennan, the girlfriend and mother of Jobs’ first child, gave a fine performance. Her rich soprano lured and attracted Jobs’ character and the audience as well. Her sound was new to the music’s vocal range up until this point. As was her message: “pay attention to her,” “listen to her,” “care for her and their child.” But, it went nowhere. Her message showed the wall that Jobs had built around himself as he pursued his vision of the “one device.” The machine of his dreams was the machine of machines. The fall-out was painful and her singing, as plangent and appealing as it was, rankled him, as did her presence.

While Brennan’s message conveyed her disappointment, and ours, it aptly reflected the critique so many women have voiced throughout the 20th and 21st centuries about men glued to their work, including their accomplishments, their identities, and their devices. This undoubtedly continues to contribute to the disappointments in relationships. If nothing else, the opera portrayed men in society achieving as per society’s demands and being “punished” and “guilty” for failing to become equal partners to their companions and their feelings. Lest we fail to put aside his particular achievement, Jobs the character was “guilty” of failing his partner – and their daughter. The scenic backdrop to the initial part of their encounter was an Apple orchard and the audience was left wondering perhaps if it gave rise to the name of Jobs’ company and the great machine itself. Too bad it couldn’t have done more to help keep the relationship from going sour.

More Cast Highlights

Tenor Bille Bruley as Steve Wozniak shined in both his dramatization of his partnership with Jobs – geek, technical genius, lighthearted lively friend, and playful –  but also in his voice. Bruley was lyrically satisfying. He could be heard through the orchestra. Their gamboling telephone pranks of using the computer to call the Pope, for instance, was a delightful bit of fun in the midst of the high-seriousness of their pursuit. It reminded us that high-minded works of expression are fed by play. Plaintively, Wozniak sings of “our machine, our beautiful machine” that has become a controller. This was poignant and all too true.

Baritone Joseph Lattanzi as Jobs’ father performed with conviction. Tenor Wei Wu as Kobun Chino Otogawa gave a welcome of relief to the frantic and driving thrust of the overall production. The depths that he reached with his low voice, however, disappeared the clarity of his words. His wit showed the counterpart to Jobs’ frenzy and conveyed so much of what gave Jobs’ ground as he dealt with the power of his mental pursuits. The moment when Jobs lay his head on Kobun’s shoulder showed not only his own humility, but his reverence to humanity. Also, a note about the costume: Was it necessary to include the “rakasu,” the blue handsewn bib that is a significant part of Zen practice, on stage? This literal presentation was distracting. A monk’s robe would have been sufficient.

(R)evolutionary Insight & Inspiration

The admixture of the story of how creation might occur and the combination of the joys and sorrows of its genesis and fruition created a lively journey through the process and biography of the man who made groundbreaking change. This is an inspiration for all to do something beyond even Steve Jobs’ wildest dreams.

Hurrah for the production. Hurrah for its creation. Hurrah for Jobs and Wozniak for their monumental and world-changing creation. Humanity is the better for it, or perhaps a little worse. We sit on the cusp of wrecking our own human dimension and possibilities by going at the speed of light. We are endangered, but not destroyed if we do not surrender to its power. Technology needs boundaries and “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs” emphasizes this point: Technology is powerful and cunning. Hold it in your hand, but don’t trade your hand for it.

The post San Francisco Opera 2023 Assessment: ‘The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs’ appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

“The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs,” by acclaimed San Francisco composer Mason Bates and Pulitzer-winning librettist Mark Campbell, is being performed at the San Francisco Opera, September 22nd – October 7th.

Under the baton of Michael Christie, Bates’ score takes us on an operatic journey through the fragmented memory of love, betrayal, obsession and death, weaving together classical lyricism and a techno soundscape informed by the audio of early computers.

The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Image: San Francisco Opera)

Therese Poletti for MarketWatch:
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Along with his major influence on Silicon Valley, co-founding Apple with Steve Wozniak at age 21, and guiding the design of breakthrough innovations such as the Mac and eventually the iPhone to the iPad, Jobs the business genius was also well-known to often be cruel, maniacally focused and controlling. It is undeniable that there has always been much fascination with Jobs, his ouster from Apple and epic comeback, the myths and stories, versus his highly scripted public persona, potentially making him a worthy subject of one of the most complete art forms.

After seeing “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs,” a moving and accessible opera, Jobs proved to be a perfect protagonist by theatrical standards. He was a complex and contradictory force and his untimely death at age 56 was indeed tragic, no matter how you felt about him. With Jobs as the linchpin, the opera is a story about life and death in one act, sung in English, that is only 100 minutes long, a deeply layered look at the multi-faceted tech visionary…

“I made up the language,” Campbell said. “You don’t know what Woz and Steve were saying when they were making that prototype. We don’t know that. These are two stoner boys, a little bit older than teenagers, maybe in their parents garage, and not realizing at all that they were going to revolutionize the universe with what they were doing there.”

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MacDailyNews Take: Jobs certainly lived an operatic life. More info about “The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs”here.
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The post ‘The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs’ is a shifting and accessible opera about Steve Jobs’ life inside and outside of Apple appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

Steve Young, former BYU and NFL quarterback, waves as he exits the stage after speaking during the Silicon Slopes Summit at Vivint Arena on Friday, September 30, 2022 in Salt Lake City. | Ben B. Braun, Deseret News

Steve Young will be a soccer coach this fall — at the high school level.

As Sports Illustrated’s Madison Williams noted in a report Wednesday night, it was announced earlier this month that BYU and San Francisco 49ers legend Young would serve as an assistant coach for the Menlo School’s girls flag football team will be as the sport celebrates its first high school season in California.

The announcement said that Young, who was recently part of a major layoff at ESPN after more than 20 years as an analyst, “will serve as an assistant coaching guest lecturer” and his two daughters — a senior and a freshman — will be on the team.

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“Flag football will be a wonderful opportunity for young women to showcase their talent,” Young said in the announcement.

“Football is a great team game that teaches tremendous life lessons. I want to help build women’s flag football.”

The team’s head coach will be John Paye, who played with Young in the 49ers from 1987-1989 and is the school’s longtime coach.

According to an announcement earlier this year, the 49ers played a key role in making flag football a sanctioned sport in California this season.

The post Steve Younger is shifting to teaching appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.