I find it interesting that so few people bring up what Steve Wilks inherited. He went 6-6 without any coaches of his choosing. The style of play that Wilks was criticized for was not just a product of a defensive coach's view of offense, but it was a reflection of the offensive talent on the Panthers. One proven wide receiver, a QB carousel, no CMC, and a conservative OC. The fact that he won 6 games with the limited offensive talent is a testimony to doing more with less. I would have loved to see what Coach Wilks could have done if he had the opportunity to bring in his own staff. I would love to have seen who he would have reached out to and hired as his OC and QB coach and to have a chance to help shape the roster. As for the two games some posters mentioned that sealed Coach Wilks fate, the Pittsburgh game was a "head scratcher". However, Kansas City losing to Indy was a "head scratcher", Jacksonville beating Dallas at the time was a "head scratcher". It happens to best of teams and is more prone to happen to teams with a low margin of error, like the Panthers. Remember, the Panthers were leading 20-10 in the 4th quarter at Tampa Bay, before Tom Brady went "Tom Brady" and hooked up with Mike Evans for critical touchdowns. How many times has Brady done that to better teams than the Panthers? Also, no Jaycee Horn or Dante Jackson and corners being manned by C. J. Henderson, Keith Taylor, a recently signed and much older Josh Norman and practice squad promotions. Also, what about multiple Sam Darnold turnovers? Didn't they also play a role in the defeat? I agree that Coach Wilks will be alright, but he did get a raw deal. I really wonder even if he had won the NFC South, if he would have suffered the same fate. One more thing, Eric Beineimy not even interviewed is a joke. I hope Coach Wilks and the other coaches that filed the lawsuit against the NFL get a multi-million dollar settlement. It is apparent that black coaches are held to a higher standard, given fewer opportunities, and given less time to prove themselves.
