When Steve Wilks was hired as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2018, many of us thought he was given a sincere opportunity to build something special in the desert.
We were so very painfully wrong.
Wilks, the Carolina Panthers’ defensive coordinator at the time, signed a four-year deal with Arizona to become their head coach. He inherited a strong defensive unit featuring Chandler Jones, Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu. They also had young rising stars like safety Budda Baker and linebacker Haason Reddick.
That was a dream for a defensive coordinator.
But the NFL transitioned into a pass-first league, and Wilks’ offense paled in comparison to his defense.
His quarterbacks were an aging Carson Palmer and an underwhelming Blaine Gabbert. And other than future Hall of Famers Larry Fitzgerald and Adrian Peterson, who were both in the twilights of their amazing careers, the Cardinals lacked talent
So not much was expected from the team, which meant that Wilks would have the opportunity to build.
But team management had other ideas.
First, they drafted QB Josh Rosen out of UCLA, one of the worst picks in the 2018 NFL Draft. That includes Baker Mayfield going number one overall and Sam Darnold going to the Jets at pick three.
The Bills selected Josh Allen three picks before the Cardinals, but Arizona had the chance to select talent and playmakers over Rosen from a list of players including D.J. Moore, Nick Chubb, Shaquille Leonard and Courtland Sutton.
But GM Steve Keim wanted a quarterback, and Rosen had enamored fans with a solid junior season at UCLA, so he went for it.
His mistake was one that every team seeking a QB that year, except the Bills and Ravens, made.
Passing on Lamar Jackson.
That single draft essentially sealed Wilks’ fate. The offense was horrendous and the team finished 3-13.
Keim failed to provide Wilks with offensive talent and, even worse, didn’t allow him the chance to improve the unit in year two as Wilks was fired.
Right before the team drafted Kyler Murray and eventually traded for De’Andre Hopkins.
Wilks’ plight is one Black NFL head coaches consistently face.
They play the role of “clean-up man” or “bridge coach” and are summarily dismissed and replaced most often by a white coach. Then, miraculously, the team improves due to the development of younger players, key draft selections and big trades, the latter of which the team failed to do, or wouldn’t do while they had a Black head coach.
Even worse, they’re seldom given a second chance at being a head coach.
Ask Brian Flores, Anthony Lynn, David Culley, Raheem Morris, Leslie Frazier, Mel Tucker and Vance Joseph.
And sometimes, despite their success, they’re shunned in favor of trendy-looking coaches or those with more popular names.
Just ask Jim Caldwell.
Josh McDaniels has received multiple head coaching opportunities and still hasn’t proven he’s head coaching material. Ask the Raiders how it’s going with McDaniels at the helm.
So now Steve Wilks rightfully gets a second chance at something he deserved a fair shot at in the first place.
Yet once again he faces a difficult challenge as he’s situated in the role of bridge coach….again.
The Panthers’ offense is struggling under Baker Mayfield, the team appears to be in rebuild mode and, to top it off, owner David Tepper isn’t convinced of Wilks’ future as Carolina’s main headset holder.
“No promises were made, but if he does an incredible job, he has to be in consideration,” Tepper said.
This is the exact reason why Wilks joined Brian Flores’ scathing racial discrimination lawsuit against the NFL.
Black coaches become bridge coaches and, more often than not, lack the support they need and deserve. And after navigating the team through rough waters, they’re replaced by white coaches who inherit a solid foundation minus the distractions and headaches.
Anthony Lynn deserved another year with Justin Herbert.
Wilks deserved the chance to lead a team with Kyler Murray under center.
Brian Flores deserved the Miami team that Mike McDaniel helms now.
But their teams had other plans.
Since 1990, according to The Washington Post, Black coaches have been named interim coaches 14 times but only retained three times.
That doesn’t bode well for Steve Wilks.
If Carolina delves into fire sale mode, then his future is predictable, especially if they trade Christian McCaffrey and DJ Moore.
Just ask Perry Fewell, Carolina’s bridge coach after they fired Ron Rivera in 2019.
So if the Panthers enter full rebuild mode, the team will thank Wilks, a Carolina native, for his efforts and commitment to the team, look for a young offensive coordinator to take over, arm him with multiple draft picks, bless him with Tepper’s support and quickly turn the page.
And that will relegate Wilks back to the bench, joining other Black coaches worthy of much bigger things.
