In an alternate reality, it's possible, if not likely, that San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks would not be on this Niners staff that will be coaching in Super Bowl 58. In that alternate reality, Wilks, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, could've instead been the head coach of the Carolina Panthers in 2023, becoming the easy scapegoat as the Panthers finished under .500 for the 6th consecutive season.
Wilks spent six years as a defensive assistant in Carolina under Ron Rivera from 2012-2017, and then returned to Carolina in 2022, serving as defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach under Matt Rhule. After Rhule was fired a 1-4 start to the season, Wilks was named interim head coach, leading the Panthers to a 6-6 finish the rest of the way that put them just one win shy of an improbable NFC South title. To the surprise and disappointment of many, Wilks wasn't retained as head coach on a permanent basis ahead of the 2023 season. Panthers owner David Tepper instead opted to hire Frank Reich for the job, and then fire Frank Reich after a 1-10 start to the season.
Given how things went down, Wilks has the right to hold hard feelings against Tepper and the Panthers organization. Instead, he's opting to look at the situation in Carolina as a valuable learning experience in how an organization shouldn't be ran.
“I’m not bitter,” Wilks said, per Sheena Quick of FOX Sports Radio 1340 AM (h/t Anthony Rizzuti of Panthers Wire. “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.”
There's no reason to be bitter when you're the one getting the last laugh. And make no mistake, with Wilks on his way to Super Bowl 58 as the defensive coordinator of the 49ers, he's surely laughing his way to Las Vegas.
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