Let's say the choice is....

[TLGPanthersFan]

Will be interesting to see what happens to this board if Wilks falls flat on his face next year if he is given the job. 
Right now he is fighting for a full time job, even though his conservative tendencies have come through a few times, and is pretty much in full “Riverboat” mode. 
If he gets the job will he evolve or will we see the same thing that happens sometimes when a player gets a big contract? They get lazy and turtle up with what’s comfortable. 

[Mr. Scot]

If Wilks gets the job, the most critical element to success is going to be his staffing, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

He'll need to resist some of his instincts and think outside the box a little.

[TheWiz]

In 9 games, Wilks has done more than Matt Rhule has done in 2 1/2 years. I dont want recency bias to blind us by celebrating mediocrity. But I think that some things are really about fit. Some players work out better other places because of fit. And it really seems like Steve Wilks fits here. He understands the culture, the fan base, and the players love him. That is going to be hard to duplicate. There's talent all over this league but good coaching tends to separate teams that stay bad from teams that stay good. 

Steve Wilks' was set up to fail... and we're a game out of the playoffs. Imagine what would happen if he had the support he deserves. He's our guy. 

[Waldo]

3 minutes ago, TLGPanthersFan said:

Will be interesting to see what happens to this board if Wilks falls flat on his face next year if he is given the job. 
Right now he is fighting for a full time job, even though his conservative tendencies have come through a few times, and is pretty much in full “Riverboat” mode. 
If he gets the job will he evolve or will we see the same thing that happens sometimes when a player gets a big contract? They get lazy and turtle up with what’s comfortable. 

I wouldn't say lazy jusy reverting to what they really want to do when they can justify do so. Rest sounds about right.

[parker]

19 minutes ago, Tbe said:

Yeah, McVay was literally dissecting defenses for his QBs and telling them where to go with the ball pre-snap. He was doing everything but throwing the ball.

A well know saying goes like this. College is about Jimmy and Joe’s. Pro is about X’s and O’s.

Sean Payton recently talked about how much time he spent watching film and working on game plans every week.

 

The Rams have a worse record than us this year.  Just saying.

[Tbe]

8 minutes ago, parker said:

The Rams have a worse record than us this year.  Just saying.

How many Super Bowls have they been to in the past 5 years? Just sayin.

[Tr3ach]

1 hour ago, Zod said:

Let's say you can keep Wilks or give another first time NFL head coach a shot.

 

Who you choosing?

I feel like you are clearly trying to push your opinion in your phrasing.  Of course it depends on who the other coach is, for example I would definitely take Steichen over Wills and a select couple others, without a doubt.  Is it a slightly more risky option?  Definitely.   Is there more potential to be a great team by taking the risk?  Probably. 

[Tr3ach]

Panthers are notorious as a franchise for taking the safe route and never winning a superbowl.   We take one risk on a coaching staff that goes badly and everyone instantly panics to go back to super safe route.

[BrianS]

17 minutes ago, parker said:

The Rams have a worse record than us this year.  Just saying.

The Rams have had an epic run of injuries.  Context matters.  Remember 2018?  6-2 Panthers go to Steelers, Cam gets his shoulder blown off.  We end the year 7-9.

For the record, I am in the camp that says we need to go get an offensive mind to compete in the NFL today with any sort of regularity.

Edited December 14, 2022 by BrianS

[OceanPanther]

 

Why does it have to be a FIRST TIME head coach vs Wilks..    

I'm not against  Wilks or in his camp yet ( Like he cares LOL ) , but maybe there'll be a another former head coach to take a look at .   I think Wilks is doing a very good job , coming in off the bench.  

Our offense still reeks ..  As much as we liked running the ball down Seattle's throat , even when they knew it was coming ,,  you have to have more pass offense.  Of coarse having a TE and a couple of WR that can catch the ball, get separation, and even make the occasional miracle catch would help . 

[Sgt Schultz]

2 minutes ago, Tr3ach said:

Panthers are notorious as a franchise for taking the safe route and never winning a superbowl.   We take one risk on a coaching staff that goes badly and everyone instantly panics to go back to super safe route.

This takes us to another huge factor.  What will the guy signing the checks do? 

He swung for the fences the first time and whiffed badly and looked like a fool.  Granted, he had a lot off help going down that path by a guy who was a fool.  Coaches aside, he has swung and missed a few times on various things.  Does that make him more inclined to make a safe hire?

[Mr. Scot]

4 minutes ago, Sgt Schultz said:

This takes us to another huge factor.  What will the guy signing the checks do? 

He swung for the fences the first time and whiffed badly and looked like a fool.  Granted, he had a lot off help going down that path by a guy who was a fool.  Coaches aside, he has swung and missed a few times on various things.  Does that make him more inclined to make a safe hire?

Last we heard from Tepper, he did seem to indicate that he knew how badly he'd screwed up with trying to do things his way.

[d-dave]

I'm going to say "I don't know!"

There are four more games.  I think Steve has done a great job despite being set up to fail.  Like @TheWiz said, he FITS really well.  I agree that's important.  Steve Wilks has shown that he is a real NFL coach.  He's taken whatever Matt Rhule put together and molded into a tough ass team (that's what Rhule always wanted) that's making a playoff run.  Who would have thought that after that SF debacle?

As much as I was on board for an offensive wunderkinder earlier, more and more I'm down for Wilks in 2023.  Wilks has learned when and how he needs to be more hands on.  Do you think McAdoo would be running these jumbo packages without Steve there telling him what he needs?  

Look up at Carolina North.  They hired our defensive coordinator as HC, and they have one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL.  So that's not terrible.  Bill Belichick is considered one of the best HCs (and cheaters) of all time, was a defensive guy.  Is there an Andy Reid/McVey/Shannanhan out there who can be the cornerstone for our offense for 10 years?  

At the end of the day, you need to find a coach.  Some will bring those X and O's advantage, others will require their coordinators to do it.  It's above my paygrade.  While we are making a lot of progress, there is still a TON of work to do, starting with finding a HC and QB.  No matter how good you are, you need that high level QB to be successful in the NFL.

[rayzor]

49 minutes ago, TheWiz said:

In 9 games, Wilks has done more than Matt Rhule has done in 2 1/2 years. I dont want recency bias to blind us by celebrating mediocrity. But I think that some things are really about fit. Some players work out better other places because of fit. And it really seems like Steve Wilks fits here. He understands the culture, the fan base, and the players love him. That is going to be hard to duplicate. There's talent all over this league but good coaching tends to separate teams that stay bad from teams that stay good. 

Steve Wilks' was set up to fail... and we're a game out of the playoffs. Imagine what would happen if he had the support he deserves. He's our guy. 

agreed to all that.

i mean if he doesn't get the gig, but we get some offensive genius...i'm not going to cry. 

but more and more i'm warming up to the idea of wilks being that coach. i just really like the way he's handled everything and the aggressiveness i've seen from the team since he took over. i feel like whatever scheme we take on with whatever OC we get with him that it will be aggressive in its nature. 

but there are so many elements to this team in its history that showed that aggressive character and nature that we lost with rhule (even though we had lost a good bit of it in the last couple years of both rivera and fox's regime). 

wilks has brought it back.