The Arizona Cardinals have hired Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks to be their new head coach, per Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. Wilks, who will replace recently-retired former coach Bruce Arians, has signed a four-year contract with a team option for a fifth season.
Wilks, 48, has been an NFL assistant since 2006. He spent the past six years with the Panthers, five of which as a defensive backs coach before being promoted to defensive coordinator last season. He was a highly sought-after head-coaching candidate, having been linked with several vacancies around the league over the past few weeks.
Wilks has extensive experience as a defensive backs coach both in the NFL and in college. He deployed a blitz-heavy defense last season with the Panthers, which should be similar to the aggressive blitzing scheme the Cardinals have run over the past few years.
The Panthers have 96 interceptions since Wilks’ first season as Carolina’s defensive backs coach in 2012, which is sixth-most in the NFL. Wilks will now inherit a Cardinals team which is ranked first in picks during that span. Superstar Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson expressed his approval over Wilks’ hiring on Twitter.
I LOVE IT.
— Patrick Peterson /P2 (@P2) January 22, 2018
Apart from Peterson, Wilks will also have talented players in Tyrann Mathieu, Chandler Jones, Budda Baker, and Hasson Reddick on that Cardinals defense.
However, there are significant question marks for Wilks to answer on offense. The Cardinals will need to find a new quarterback following Carson Palmer’s retirement. Star receiver Larry Fitzgerald's future is also still in doubt.
On the bright side, Wilks should have superstar running back David Johnson back after he missed virtually the entire 2017 season with a wrist injury. The Cardinals still went 8-8 despite being without Johnson as well as Palmer, who played just seven games before breaking his arm.
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