NEW YORK (WBTV) – Former Carolina Panthers interim head coach and Charlotte native Steve Wilks was fired from his latest NFL job after his defense surrendered 48 points on Sunday.
Wilks — who led the Panthers to the brink of the playoffs in 2022 as interim coach — was in his first year as defensive coordinator for the New York Jets.
In 14 games under Wilks, the Jets gave up an average of 28.4 points per game, which was third-worst in the league. The worst of those outings came in Wilks’ last game, where New York allowed 48 points and six total touchdowns to Trevor Lawrence and the likely playoff-bound Jacksonville Jaguars.
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn said during Monday’s press conference that he decided to fire Wilks after Sunday’s game, and informed him of the decision the next morning.
“I felt like it was the best decision for the organization,” Glenn said. “I’ve said this all along that I’m evaluating players, I’m evaluating coaches, I’m evaluating myself … and I just felt like this was the best decision right now for the team.”
“Steve’s a really, really good person and I think he’s a really good coach. But again, I thought it was the best decision for this team.”
In fairness of Wilks — who went to West Charlotte High School and App State — he did lose his two best players at the NFL’s trade deadline when the Jets traded away Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams.
Steve Wilks nearly led the Panthers to the playoffs in 2022 as interim head coach.(Jacob Kupferman | AP)
Glenn said Wilks will be replaced by Chris Harris, who also has Panthers ties. Harris played three seasons for Carolina from 2007-2009, and spent eight years overall in the NFL. Following his playing career, Harris has bounced around the league as an assistant since 2013 and now has his first opportunity to act as a defensive coordinator.
Meanwhile, the 56-year-old Wilks will now be looking for his seventh job since 2018. In that time, he has worked as the defensive coordinator for the Browns, 49ers and Jets, head coach of the Cardinals, a year in college, and the 2022 season with the Panthers.
During that 2022 campaign, he started the year as an assistant then took over for a fired Matt Rhule. Despite a 6-6 record and nearly winning the NFC South, the Panthers infamously passed on giving him the full-time role in favor of Frank Reich, who lasted just 11 games as Carolina’s head coach. That was Wilks’ second stint with Carolina, after he was on the defensive staff from 2012-2017.
Also Read: Prolific South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback dies, university says
Copyright 2025 WBTV. All rights reserved.