”Steve’s personality is as an aggressive guy,” his ex-boss, Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera, said.
Wilks, 48, spent last season as defensive coordinator of the Panthers after five seasons as the team’s secondary coach. He’s been an NFL assistant for 12 years.
Wilks replaces the colorful and outspoken Bruce Arians, who retired after five seasons and compiled a franchise-record 50 victories.
With the hiring of Wilks, all three major football programs in the state have African-American coaches – Wilks, Herm Edwards at Arizona State and Kevin Sumlin at Arizona. Wilks is the Cardinals’ second African-American coach (Dennis Green was the first) and the only minority candidate to get an NFL head coaching job this hiring cycle.
The Cardinals were 8-8 last season despite a myriad of significant injuries and closed out Arians’ career with a win in Seattle.
”This is not really a rebuild, this is a retool,” Wilks told azcardinals.com. ”We have the culture of winning here. We just have to be able to sustain it. It’s all about trying to get to the next level and the consistency you need to get to the next level.”
Patrick Peterson, perennial Pro Bowl cornerback and a leader of the Arizona defense, tweeted simply ”I LOVE IT.”
Azcardinals.com released a brief video of Wilks talking to Arizona fans.
”I’d like to introduce myself to the `Bird Gang L. P. Ladouceur Jersey ,”’ he said. ”This is your head coach Steve Wilks. I’m so excited about building something great here. It’s all about trying to create a commitment to excellence and I can’t wait to see you guys at the Red Sea.”
Wilks was in Arizona for a second interview last week and was interviewed for the Tennessee job, which went to Mike Vrabel. Wilks also coached for 11 years at the collegiate level, including a one-year stint as head coach at Savannah State in 1999.
The Cardinals planned to introduce Wilks as coach at a news conference Tuesday at team headquarters.
Wilks played defensive back at Appalachian State, attended the Seattle Seahawks training camp and played for the Charlotte Rage of the Arena Football League.
He worked his way up through the college assistant coaching ranks with stops at Johnson C. Smith in Charlotte, Savannah State, Illinois State, Appalachian State, East Tennessee State, Bowling Green, Notre Dame and Washington.
Wilks’ first NFL job was as defensive backs coach of the Chicago Bears. He held a similar job with the San Diego Chargers for three seasons before joining the Panthers staff.
Under Wilks this season, the Panthers ranked seventh in total defense.
Speaking about Wilks last week, his Charlotte players were supportive.
”I think he gets guys to relate to him, get on the same page Jerrell Freeman Jersey , get on the same scheme,” defensive end Charles Johnson said. ”He comes to work every day and guys respect that. Just his whole personality. His mentality of getting guys to play how you want to play. He’s a good coach for that.”
In an interview last fall, linebacker Luke Kuechly said, ”Steve Wilks and all those guys are doing an excellent job of game-planning and putting us in position to be successful and utilizing what we do well. Those coaches listen (to the players).
”They’re not hard-headed. They do a great job with us. They motivate us. They do a good job of making sideline corrections and in-game adjustments. It’s fun to play for them.”
The Cardinals were the last team to fill a coaching vacancy, just as they were in 2013 when they hired Arians, who won his second NFL coach of the year award in his second season with the team.
Last week, Rivera talked about Wilks’ coaching potential.
”I know that Steve is a hot commodity, deservedly so,” Rivera said. `He has done a tremendous job wherever he’s been, starting in Chicago and San Diego and down here with us. It’s going to be a tough one. Him and Sean (McDermott) are two very good people who are very special to this organization.”
Wilks replaced McDermott as Carolina defensive coordinator when McDermott was named head coach at Buffalo a year ago.
The Cardinals have a head coach with a background in defense for the first time since Dave McGinnis was hired 17 years ago. Wilks’ first task probably is to hire an offensive coordinator, a move that’s particularly important because the retirement of Carson Palmer left Arizona with no quarterback.
And general manager Steve Keim is turning his attention full-time to finding that elusive quarterback, through a trade, free agency Dan Skuta Jersey , the draft or any combination of the three.
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AP Pro Football Writer Teresa Walker in Nashville and AP Sports Writer Steve Reed in Charlotte contributed to this report.
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When a new coach comes in, it's always interesting to see who lines up with the first-team units.
One of the surprises for the New York Giants was seeing Josh Mauro at defensive end during the first practice at organized team activities this week.
Mauro knows the 3-4 system that is being installed by new defensive coordinator James Bettcher. The drawback is that the five-year veteran is not going to be on the field when new coach Pat Shurmur and the Giants open the season at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He will be starting a four-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
The NFL handed down the suspension days after the 27-year-old Mauro signed a one-year contract with the Giants. The team knew it was coming before signing him.
"They have confidence in me," Mauro said. "They are giving me an opportunity here. I just want to give them everything I have to return that favor. It means a lot to me and I want to give them everything I have."
Mauro has accepted responsibility for using the drug. He purchased an over-the-counter supplement and didn't know it contained a banned substance. A trace amount of it was found in a test. It was not present in a test a week later.
Mauro, who released a statement after the suspension explaining what happened, wants everyone to know that he is not a cheater.
"Once you step away from this game all you have is your name," Mauro said. "You can have your accomplishments, your stats, whatever else, individual or team successes you've had, but it's just important for me to let everyone know the circumstances beyond that."
Mauro could be a key player for Bettcher, who coached him for three seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. Along with linebacker Kareem Martin, he can explain the new system to his teammates.
He also doesn't see a team that was 3-13 last season.
"There are a lot of positives up here," the former Stanford product said. "This is probably the toughest division (NFC East) in the NFL Matt Prater Jersey , so there are a lot of opportunities to play great teams. And just this city, it's the ultimate football city."
Mauro may train with the Giants and participate in training camp. Once his suspension starts, he cannot be with the team unless he is getting treatment for an injury.
Mauro, who started 26 games for the Cardinals with 75 tackles and two sacks, plans to meet with the staff before the suspension starts to get a workout routine.
While they traded Jason Pierre-Paul in the offseason, the Giants have depth at the end spot with Olivier Vernon, Kerry Wynn, Romeo Okwara and Avery Moss. They are heavy at the tackle spots with Damon Harrison, Dalvin Thompson, Robert Thomas and rookie draft picks RJ McIntosh and B.J. Hill.
NOTES: The Giants signed veteran receiver Russell Shepard, who has played five seasons in the NFL. He was released by the Carolina Panthers last week. To make room on the 90-man roster, first year cornerback Tim Scott was released. He played in one game last season.
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