Steve Wilks


Steven Bernard Wilks is an American football coach and former player who most recently served as the defensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He previously was the head coach for the Arizona Cardinals for one season and was fired after a 3–13 record. He also spent time as defensive backs coach for the Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers, and as defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers.
Wilks is a two-time NFC Champion, winning with the Bears in 2006 and with the Panthers in 2015, losing the Super Bowl to Peyton Manning-led teams on both occasions.

Playing career

Wilks played defensive back from 1987 to 1991 at Appalachian State.
Wilks played one year in the AFL for the Charlotte Rage as a wide receiver, defensive back, and kick returner.

Coaching career

College

Wilks served as Head Football Coach at Savannah State College for one season and compiled a record of 5-6.

Chicago Bears

Wilks was hired by the Chicago Bears as defensive backs coach on February 16, 2006. The Bears announced on December 30, 2008, that they had fired Wilks.

San Diego Chargers

Wilks was not unemployed for long, however. He was hired as defensive backs coach of the San Diego Chargers in 2009 when former Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera moved to the same position in San Diego.

Carolina Panthers

When Rivera became head coach of the Panthers, he hired Wilks as secondary coach on January 15, 2012. He was promoted to assistant head coach in 2015. He was Pro Football Focus's second runner up to their Secondary Coach of the Year award.
In the 2015 season, Wilks and the Panthers finished 15-1 and reached Super Bowl 50 on February 7, 2016. The Panthers fell to the Denver Broncos by a score of 24–10.
After Sean McDermott left to become head coach of the Buffalo Bills, Wilks was promoted to defensive coordinator.
After the 2017 season, Wilks was an extremely hot commodity for teams in need of new head coaches. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, teams were impressed by Wilks' interview with the Los Angeles Rams in the previous offseason before they eventually hired Sean McVay. Wilks interviewed with the New York Giants who had hired his former boss in Carolina, ex-Panthers general manager David Gettleman.

Arizona Cardinals

On January 22, 2018, the Arizona Cardinals hired Steve Wilks to be the next head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, replacing the recently retired Bruce Arians. In the 2018 season opener against the Washington Redskins, Wilks made his head coaching debut in the 24–6 loss. In Week 5, against the San Francisco 49ers, he recorded his first NFL victory as a head coach. He finished coaching the season with an NFL-worst 3–13 record and the worst record for the Cardinals since 2000. On December 31, 2018, the Cardinals fired Wilks.

Cleveland Browns

On January 14, 2019, Wilks was hired by the Cleveland Browns to be their defensive coordinator under head coach Freddie Kitchens. He was not retained under new head coach Kevin Stefanski.

Head coaching record

College

NFL