Former Carolina Panthers coach Steve Wilks is landing in “The Big Apple.”
As first reported by NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero this evening, Wilks is set to be hired as the new defensive coordinator of the New York Jets. A contract, per ESPN senior NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler, is expected to be signed on Thursday.
Wilks, a Charlotte, N.C. native spent a total of seven years on Carolina’s sidelines—where he worked as a defensive backs coach (2012 to 2016), assistant head coach (2015 to 2016), defensive coordinator (2017) and defensive passing game coordinator/secondary coach/interim head coach (2022). The Panthers, in 12 games under Wilks in 2022, went 6-6 and finished one game behind the NFC South-winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
After parting ways with the Panthers following their 2023 hire of Frank Reich, Wilks was hired as the defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers. But despite helping the Niners reach Super Bowl LVIII, as his unit allowed the third-fewest points per game (17.5), Wilks was dismissed after just one year.
He did not coach in the NFL this past season.