Panthers news: Steve Wilks, Bryce Young, Julius Peppers and offseason success
By Dean Jones
Steve Wilks reflects on Carolina Panthers tenure
Steve Wilks was harshly treated by the Carolina Panthers. He galvanized an organization on its knees after becoming interim head coach. He restored a sense of pride and culture. Players were completely bought in. This was not enough for team owner David Tepper to make the move permanent as he looked for an offensive mind to take the franchise forward.
Wilks landed on his feet as San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator. He's about to embark on the tough quest to stop Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in pursuit of a Super Bowl ring. The respected coach also harbors no resentment towards the Panthers - especially given he learned how not to go about football business based on comments via USA Today Sports.
"I’m not bitter. Everything’s a learning experience for me, and I learned a lot there—a lot of what not to do. Learned a lot of what it should look like, particularly coming here. There’s so much respect that I have for this organization [49ers]. The York family, starting with Jed, they do it the right way—just completely how they run the organization. And really giving Kyle [Shanahan] and John [Lynch] everything they need to succeed—everything down to the meals, the food, how we travel. It’s just top-notch."
- Steve Wilks via USA Today Sports
The Panthers probably regret not riding the Wilks train. Frank Reich lacked the motivation and was an uninspiring leader of men. Hopefully, new head coach Dave Canales will have more about him.