Steve Wilks led the Carolina Panthers to a 6-6 record as the team's interim head coach. The Panthers decided to hire Frank Reich over him for their permanent head coaching role. But even after his work as Carolina's interim HC, he wasn't even the Panthers' runner-up choice for their full-time head coach.
The Panthers have already announced Reich as their newest head coach. However, in the days leading up to Reich's hiring, Carolina was showing a lot more interest in Dallas Cowboys' offensive coordinator Kellen Moore over Wilks, via the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
“In recent days it really came down to Frank Reich as well as Kellen Moore, who was the last coach they interviewed,” Pelissero said. “They spent some time on him and ended up keeping him overnight to continue the conversation.”
Pellissero noted that Moore fit what the Panthers were looking for in a young offensive mind, “to build around.” However, Carolina decided to go with Reich due to his proven past success as a head coach.
Wilks took over for the Panthers after Carolina fired Matt Rhule. Just 1-4 at the time, Wilks helped lead Carolina to the brink of the playoffs. No one expected the Panthers to contend after their rough start, and yet Wilks helped Carolina stay in the NFC South hunt deep into the regular season.
Still, the Panthers have decided to go in a different direction with Reich at head coach. But even if Reich wasn't the guy Carolina hired, it doesn't seem like Steve Wilks would've been either.
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