Steve Wilks’ reputation precedes him as he enters his role as Carolina Panthers interim head coach. And that’s because his previous stint with the organization, a tenure seemingly lauded by everyone he crossed paths with, literally precedes this next great step of his career.
One of those people he crossed paths with was former Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart, who actually joined old teammate Luke Kuechly in attending Wilks’ first practice at the helm on Wednesday. Carolina’s all-time leading rusher also joined the guys over on the C3 Panthers Podcast later that night, and gave his thoughts on the franchise’s current transition away from Matt Rhule.
When asked by host Cody Lachney if he believes Wilks has what it takes to turn these 1-4 Panthers around, Stewart had no reservations in heaping praise on the team’s new leader.
“I think Steve Wilks is capable of anything,” he said. “For starters, I’ll just give you a little backstory of who Steve Wilks is in my opinion, in my eyes in, in my perspective.”
Stewart then proceeded to give a little inside football into the type of motivator Wilks is:
“Him being on the defensive side of the ball during my time playing with the Carolina Panthers—as we went on our winning sprees and going to the Super Bowl, winning the championships and all those types of things.
“There were times where Coach [Ron] Rivera had to step out for the day—whether it was because of his house that caught on fire or some personal reason. Steve Wilks took the position of leading meetings, acting as head coach in those times. I remember pregame speeches—every week there’s a different coach, sometimes a player, that gets up Saturday night, give a speech.
“But I remember every time Steve Wilks spoke, every time his mouth opened—it was with reason. It was with direct reason. And after he was done speaking, especially pregame speeches and leading team meetings, I would leave those meetings feeling like I wanna run through a brick wall. And so, at the end of the day, a coach has to be a leader of men. And that’s what Steve Wilks is. He’s a leader of men.”
Wilks’ initial run with Carolina lasted from 2012 to 2017—where he served as a defensive backs coach, an assistant head coach and a defensive coordinator. Stewart, a Panther from 2008 to 2017, was there for every one of those seasons—through the three division titles, four playoff appearances and the 2015 NFC championship win.
So if he—a man who probably knows what it takes to run through a brick wall—says Wilks makes him want to run through a brick wall, then the Panthers may very well have the right man for the job at hand.
