Mage

It is legit crazy how Wilks supporters ignore how bad the division was or how easy our schedule was. We played like what, 2 teams with a winning record while Wilks was HC? And both (Ravens and Bengals) manhandled us. Steelers manhandled us. We had a 21-10 lead against the garbage Bucs going into the 4th quarter and lost. HOW DO YOU LOSE THAT GAME?! Sorry but it is a joke that people think Wilks should keep this job LMAO. Defense has gotten worse under him. There is a reason people were happy he took the Arizona job and was no longer going to be the DC>

If the Panthers keep Wilks, then I will fully accept that my favorite team will always be mediocre and there is no reason to ever get my hopes up.

How would anyone posting on this site know this? Nobody knows how Tepper is behind the scenes towards his coaches. Its all a guess. From an outsiders perspective, he gave Rhule a lot of leeway. So I don't know why he wouldn't stay out of Harbaugh's business too.

The same Tepper who stuck with Ron Rivera for 2 seasons after buying the team? The same Tepper who basically kept Rhule for 3 seasons (albeit fired him at the quarter mark of the 3rd year)? He's definitely not an impatient owner going off that.

Personally, I'd be satisfied with a Super Bowl win. Sure, would I love to be the Packers or Patriots and be a playoff team every year? Hell yeah. But a Super Bowl is hard. Think about how long Lions, Browns, Vikings, Cardinals, etc. fans have been cheering for their team and still don't have one. Look at how long in between the Chiefs first and second (at least I think it was their 2nd with Mahomes) Super Bowl victories. Look at how long Eagles fans waited. Bills fans still waiting. I'm cool with just one, man. I love the Panthers and to me it is like a story. I wait and wait and wait and one day it will have good ending and that is the team winning the Super Bowl. Everything after that moment will be sports. But imagine getting to like 70 years old (no offense to anyone that age right now) and still waiting for a Panthers Super Bowl victory? Hell nah. So I like I said. I get it. You want sustained success. But a Super Bowl victory >>> anything else.

There is no way the NFL is going to be sued, are you serious? This was a completely random incident. You know how low the odds of this happening are? There's been billions of tackles in NFL history and this is the first time (to my knowledge) this has happened. It was a freak accident. It requires getting hit at the absolutely perfect moment and it isn't like the contact between Higgins and Hamlin was beyond the norm. Nobody is getting sued and I'm sure the NFL and/or Bills will take care of Hamlin for however long he needs it. And I know everyone wants to treat the NFL as this evil business but it was the medical staff on the field that kept him alive. Why would the Hamlin family sue them? They would almost certainly lose.

Coach: Ron Rivera (Wilks retained as assistant HC and DB coach) QB: Sam Darnold, Matt Corral

2010, although that had to do with some combination of a potential lock-out the following season and Fox being on the final year of his deal. Still, I'm sure Fox didn't appreciate the team doing jack-all to improve. Then again Fox already had one foot out the door by that point anyway. That year was just a terrible time to be a Panthers fan.

Lol why is Jim Harbaugh tagged

Honestly, Andy Reid does strike me as a guy who doesn't really give a crap who he's working with. He is just focused on coaching. So I do believe him when he says he doesn't deal with most personnel issues.

Harbaugh also has a lot of respect in and outside of the NFL. You know what that means? He brings the best, most respected assistant coaches with him too. 49ers had Greg Roman (I know he isn't perfect, but far better than any Panthers OC that I can remember) and Vic Fangio while he was there. They also had Ejiro Evero (a potential HC candidate one day), Ed Donatell, Mike Solari, and Mike Lombardi. That is a strong staff. Heck even Jim Tomsula was a good DL coach. This is a reason you bring in a guy like Harbaugh. Because he brings great guys with him.

This is extremely misleading. First off, you are ranking them by solely yards... which is weird. They had an elite defense during his years there, so they didn't need to put up a lot of yards. Why are you holding that against them? They were an extremely efficient offense when Harbaugh as coach. Between 2011-2013, they finished 11th in scoring each year, which is good when you consider again they had an elite defense. They didn't need to get into shootouts. 2011 was the first year Harbaugh was there, so it makes sense the offense wasn't as good as it would be in the following years. Still, he revitalized Alex Smith's career. Remember what the opinion of Alex Smith was before Harbaugh arrived? A huge bust. Look at Smith's numbers before Harbaugh and after Harbaugh. They had a top 10 running game and in the first round of the playoffs won a shootout against the Saints. 2012 was great. I don't know if you remember that team but I do. Alex Smith was HOT. 13 TDs to 5 INTs and over a 100 QB rating. They looked even better than last year. Then Kaepernick stepped in and he had Kaep looking like a superstar. He was a monster. Look at that offenses efficiency that year. Easily top 5 running game. Finished 8th in NY/A in the passing game with the fewest interceptions (2nd year in the row this was true, as they finished with the fewest in 2011 too). 2013 again a great efficient offense. They were 32nd in pass attempts, which is why their yards are low - they didn't need to pass. But when they did, they were good. 10th in net yards per attempt. ONCE AGAIN fewest interceptions in the league. Top 5 running game. 2014 was rough. Kaep took a step back and teams largely figured him out. But this happens. Goff wasn't good with McVay forever and needed a change of scenery. It happens. They still had a top 5 run game and avoided turnovers. Is Harbaugh a Bill Walsh-level mastermind? Heck no. But to act like his offenses weren't good is crazy talk. He won with 2 different QBs in Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick. Consistently didn't turn the ball over. Consistently had an efficient passing game. Consistently had a top 5 run game. How is that not good? When's the last time the Panthers had a 3-year stretch where those things were true?

This, in all likelihood, was a freak accident. However the doctors and NFL might find information about Hamlin (like what medications he may have been on) that could have potentially increased his risk. Or he just might have a heart condition he didn't know about, although I do think NFL physicals are pretty thorough and would have discovered it... but you never know. Unfortunately not the first time it has happened in sports (first time in the NFL I think though) and sadly probably won't be the last time.

Agreed. This is the best solution IMO. There is no way you push the season back. It is one thing to reschedule a game or two during COVID. But there are far too many pieces in play (beyond even the NFL) to reschedule all the games and stadium reservations they had. Not to mention hotels, stadium staff members, events in the city, etc. This situation sucks. I feel so bad for him and I hope he recovers. I'm happy his mother was there to be with him.

Sounds like a Panthers head coach to me then!

Have you watched the Bucs offense this year? That was by far their best offensive performance of the year. Even the depleted Cardinals, who were starting their 3rd string QB and the 29th scoring defense held the Bucs to 19 points. Please do not give Wilks an excuse for the atrocious performance on defense. Brady hadn't even thrown more than 1 TD on 15+ air yard throws this entire season. He had 3 yesterday. Horrendous defensive scheme and play-calling. And the lack of adjustments? I mean come on now. Injured CBs is an excuse for the 1st TD. Hell, I'll give it to you for the 2nd one. But to let it happen a 3rd time? Wilks ain't no defensive mastermind. He was Rivera's sidekick.

I'm not arguing against Wilks' ability to coach an average team. What evidence is there to suggest Wilks can take a team over the top? What about his ability to adjust to the opponent? Make decisions on the fly? What connections does Steve Wilks have that would lead us to believe he can bring in a highly touted OC or DC? He was with Ron Rivera most of his pro coaching career, then spent one year in Arizona (got fired) and one year in Cleveland (got fired). And in a league where teams are going younger at HC, it seems weird for me to retain a retread 53-year old head coach with no notable defenses to speak of. His coaching career is basically as Ron Rivera's right-hand man (seriously, only two of his pro years (the aforementioned Browns and Cardinals stints) were without Ron Rivera), except not nearly as good if we're comparing the defenses each has coached. It baffles my mind how the same fanbase that universally agreed it was time for Rivera to go (even people in this own thread), now wants to hire his right hand man. But if the standard is a .500 record, then by all means. But I can guarantee you it will go no different than Rivera's run here... except Wilks is less likely to find his Cam Newton and will actually need to develop a QB rather than depend on his rare athleticism. And we all saw what happened every single time in games when Newton couldn't will the offense to the endzone.

This is how I know Wilks will be a bad head coach. The only thing anyone ever talks about with him is how he's a great leader. How he has the teams respect. Aka he's another conservative rah-rah coach. What evidence is there that he has the ability to adjust to the opponent and out-scheme the other team? Yes, a HC needs to be a good leader, but come on now. Nobody is sitting up on TV talking about how good of a leader Belichick is, or McVay, or Shanahan, or Payton, or Reid, or McCarthy, or Pederson, or Daboll etc. But again, I get it. Because outside of "being a leader," there really is no good argument in favor of Wilks. And do people actually think the team looked good, or did it just look better in comparison to Rhule's team? Because there is a big difference. And do we really want our standards to be, "he's better than Matt Rhule"?

The team hasn't looked good, they have just had a below average schedule. And who is Wilks going to bring in as OC? What reason is there to think Wilks of all people will be the one to help find and develop our next QB? Fox got lucky with Delhomme, but that was a different era and what happened when Delhomme declined? Rivera got lucky with the No. 1 overall pick and Cam Newton, but hell, who actually thinks Newton's potential was maximized here? And what happened when we needed a back-up plan to Cam? Who knows who the Panthers will draft but we need to guarantee ourselves a head coach who we believe can develop a franchise QB for us. Wilks is very unlikely to be that man. Lastly, I'm not against hiring defensive-minded guys as HC, but it is time for people to face the facts: there is no evidence Steve Wilks can actually coach a consistently high-level defense. Blame him or Holcomb, it doesn't matter, they go hand-in-hand. Like I said, he's a poor-mans Rivera. Rivera has coached or been the HC for many top 10 defenses. Wilks in 4 years as DC/HC has only finished inside the top 20 in points allowed once (and never in the top 10) and only finished inside the top 20 in yards allowed once, and both happened the same year by the way. Point is his defenses usually are mediocre to bad. Outside of "leadership" (and look, I'm not saying Wilks ain't a great leader, but being a great leader isn't some overly unique trait to find in a league with hundreds of coaches), what reason is there to keep Wilks? He doesn't coach great defenses. What evidence is there that he will hire a good OC? His OC in Arizona was Byron Leftwich and everyone is seeing how much he sucks as a play-caller without the influence of Arians. Honestly, if the Panthers retain Wilks, it would be one of the most disappointing moves by the team that I can remember. Just a clearly terrible decision (no offense to anyone in support of him, just stating my opinion).

Steve Wilks is a poor mans Ron Rivera

He's been conservative all year Just cost us the NFC South And he cost us a top 5 pick SCREW YOU WILKS! POS!

DARNOLD LOL

I'm glad Wilks turned down all those opportunities in the first half to go for it

lol wilks

Darnold is FILTHY