STEVE WILKS - FINAL POLL THREAD

[rayzor]

I don't know what to think. 

I love how he turned around the psyche of this team and I think he's got the ability to keep players charged up and fighting. 

Had he started the year as HC, we would have had a comfortable seat in the playoffs and that's even taking into consideration the QB merry-go-round we've had. 

But that Steelers game and that bucs game makes me doubt he can take this team to the top.. of course if our two best cornerbacks aren't out we would have beat the bucs. 

Also, the history interim coaches have when given the full time gig hasn't been great. But I also don't think history determines the future. We write our own history. 

I'm just going to ride the fence on this one. 

I think we'd be ok either way. 

I'd give him an A on the season, not because of where he finished up, but because of the way he turned this team around after Rhule. 

I'd like to see what he does with a whole off-season. 

[GuessWhosBack]

He brought the CULTURE I LOVE BACK KEEP POUNDING...

If he has a plan for a QB, give him 3 years...1st year he has to finish above .699 %, 2nd year playoffs...3rd year 20 yr extension if he wins us a superbowl...

Fox had Jake

Rivers had Cam

third time the charm...

Wilks has.....Bryce/CJ(FittMagik)...who knows...give the man his due...full control(for the love of god go find an OC) then I'll judge

 

*sidenote...lovie smith as DC...now we talking

Edited January 9, 2023 by GuessWhosBack

[Kentucky Panther]

The Panthers being in the playoff mix had much more to do with the short bus division we played in, not Wilks coaching us at a .500 clip. I’ve seen enough of him in big games at this point to think this is a clear no as far as keeping him.  

[thefuzz]

No.

A.

[PanthersATL]

2 hours ago, Kentucky Panther said:

The Panthers being in the playoff mix had much more to do with the short bus division we played in, 

then Rhule shouldn't have been the issue, right?

[Kentucky Panther]

38 minutes ago, PanthersATL said:

then Rhule shouldn't have been the issue, right?

No? They both suck? 

[45catfan]

Wilks needed an 'A' performance to keep the job.  He did well, but obviously only 12% thought he deserved a top grade.  In-game adjustments seemed to be lacking.  If things went well, it was a good day.  If things went awry from the start, it seems like the staff didn't/couldn't adjust.

[Mage]

5 hours ago, rayzor said:

I love how he turned around the psyche of this team and I think he's got the ability to keep players charged up and fighting. 

Had he started the year as HC, we would have had a comfortable seat in the playoffs and that's even taking into consideration the QB merry-go-round we've had. 

But that Steelers game and that bucs game makes me doubt he can take this team to the top.. of course if our two best cornerbacks aren't out we would have beat the bucs. 

Also, the history interim coaches have when given the full time gig hasn't been great. But I also don't think history determines the future. We write our own history. 

You are describing Mike Singletary.  A rah-rah coach who can get his players to play hard but doesn't have the expertise to take a team over the top.  49ers were 5-11 in 2007 and 2-5 in 2008 under Mike Nolan.  Singletary takes over, they go 5-4, and would have challenged for a playoff spot in a terrible division (Cardinals won it at 8-8) if Singletary was HC all year despite the inconsistency at QB.  Again... sound familiar?  And everyone thought Singletary was going to be the next great coach and pushed for the 49ers to keep him, and he kept a team with a very strong roster mediocre.  Singletary had no connections, so his choice for OC was the AWFUL Jimmy Rave.  There is no way anyone can convince me Steve Wilks will be able to bring an up-and-coming or established play-caller here.  He just ain't been around the block because he's mainly been with Rivera.  Wilks is literally the understudy of Ron Rivera... who we all pushed out of here.  

Don't second guess yourself.  Wilks did a great job this season, I ain't gonna hate on that.  But he's not the guy that is about to turnaround a franchise that hasn't made the playoffs since 2017.  And definitely not the guy to develop a franchise QB.

 

Edited January 9, 2023 by Mage

[NAS]

Does it really matter what fans want if majority of the players want Wilks?

[Mage]

12 minutes ago, NAS said:

Does it really matter what fans want if majority of the players want Wilks?

Players wanted Singletary.  Players wanted Freddie Kitchens.  Bills players wanted Perry Fewell.  Falcons wanted Raheem Morris.  

Players always back the interim unless the interim is terrible.  Hell you had players still backing Rhule at the end of 2021.  It shouldn't factor in.  What should factor in is what Wilks does outside of being a good leader.  How are his halftime adjustments?  How are his defenses historically?  What connections does he have around the NFL?  Rivera knew Wilks, McDermott, Chud, etc. all before coming to Carolina.  Who does Wilks know?  Leftwich?  Most importantly, what makes him any different than Ron Rivera? 

Edited January 9, 2023 by Mage

[Mage]

4 hours ago, Kentucky Panther said:

The Panthers being in the playoff mix had much more to do with the short bus division we played in, not Wilks coaching us at a .500 clip. I’ve seen enough of him in big games at this point to think this is a clear no as far as keeping him.  

OT vs Falcons.  We just got an interception.  1st and 10 at the Falcons 20 yard line.  And what does Wilks do?  Allow the offense to run the ball 3 times up the gut for 6 yards and settles for a FG.  And obviously the kick is missed (by the way he had missed an XP earlier... why would you trust him in that moment?).  In an important moment, in a game in which had he won we would have made the playoffs, Wilks settled for a field goal rather than trust a passing attack that was humming in the second half against one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL.  

If that was ANY other coach people would have kept bringing it up.  But for some reason people just overlook Wilks' mistakes.  It is bonkers to me.  If Rhule coached like that people would crucify him.  Hell when Rivera used to coach like that, fans were LIVID.  And it ain't like Wilks learned his lesson that you need to be aggressive to win in the modern NFL.  Look at his situational decisions against the Bucs.

Wilks is and will always be conservative.  It is clearly who he is as a HC.  Why are fans ignoring this?  Nobody brought up that atrocious Falcons conservative play-calling after the fact.

Edited January 9, 2023 by Mage

[NAS]

Tepper should hire a consultant to do the head coaching search.  This would allow him to make an objective decision rather than emotional one. 

[Newtcase]

Somewhat, copy pasted from my reply in another thread.  Relevant to the Wilkes discussion though so marginal edits and replying here as well.

Wilkes did the only thing he could do, RUN THE BALL.  The happy accident was we were actually good at it, especially considering we shipped CMC out. Successful running opened up the passing game a bit, successful offense kept the defense fresh, all the sudden we had a glimpse of complimentary football.  However, when Pitt and Tampa stuffed our run game the house of cards was exposed.

Our pathetic division amplified the value of a few wins and Panthers football got quite interesting for a few weeks.

I suppose you have to ask yourself how much Wilkes was responsible for.  Bozeman starting, Foreman/Hubbard efficiency and Darnold's steady play seem to be the main components of righting the ship as it were.  An antagonist could argue all these moves were forced on Wilkes and it just happened to result in some surprising chemistry.

#1 - Elfein started Wilkes first game against the Rams.  Bozeman didn't start until Elfein had season ending surgery the week before the first Tampa game.

#2 - No way CMC trade was an interim coaches call.  Foreman/Hubbard express was forced by the FO.

#3 - PJ goes down after Atlanta on 11/10.  Both Baker and Sam are active and healthy for Baltimore.  Wilkes rolls with Baker, which results in Baker's release.  As a last resort Wilkes turns to Sam.

To me it mostly looks like Wilkes was forced into the choices that ended up working out the best.  Not to say he isn't a leader of men, or inspiring in the locker room yadda yadda, the players do seem to love him.  I just didn't see HIS fingerprints clearly enough to say what little success we enjoyed was competent coaching vs circumstance.

[mcsmoak]

Can see it coming a mile away… Wilks will get hired and we’ll be promised an exciting offense under a new offensive coordinator.   Shortly after, Leftwich will be announced as OC after being canned by TB.  Holcomb will then be announced as full time DC.  We’ll start the season 2-7, and finish 7-10.  Media will say how great Wilks did navigating through some bad breaks early in the season and finishing on a 3 game winning streak (vs bad teams that dropped us from 3 to 11 in draft order).   Wilks will take the winning streak into 2024 with a lot of hype and fall flat on his face.  Tepper will fire him week 5 and begin yet another brutal, pathetic attempt of a coaching search