MOBILE, Ala. New Carolina Panthers secondary coach Steve Wilks has a room at an uptown hotel and no car.

For good reason: As much as Wilks is happy to be back in Charlotte, he wants to minimize distractions as he begins work with his hometown team.

"To come back home is really just the icing on the cake. It's definitely great," said Wilks, who graduated from West Charlotte in 1987 and played at Appalachian State.

"I have a lot of love and passion for the city of Charlotte, being born and raised there."

Wilks, who worked with Panthers coach Ron Rivera in Chicago and San Diego, said he's glad to be joining a "great organization" while returning to his roots. His wife and children are expected to join him in March.

Wilks came to the Panthers in what amounted to a swap with the Chargers. Former Panthers defensive backs coach Ron Meeks is taking Wilks' spot in San Diego.

Wilks had a year remaining on his contract with San Diego or he would have been part of Rivera's inaugural staff. Instead, Rivera retained Meeks - the defensive coordinator in John Fox's final two seasons - but had him coach the secondary.

"To ask a guy to take a step back and really be in the backseat, that was tough. It was unfair for me to ask. That's something I should have reevaluated before I did it," Rivera said Tuesday at a Senior Bowl practice. "And I told Ron that. Ron and I had a great conversation, and Ron felt, too that it was tough."

CHUD WATCH: Amid reports that former Green Bay coach Mike Sherman is a finalist for the Tampa Bay job, the buzz around Mobile is Panthers offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski will get a second interview with the Buccaneers.

Chudzinski is in Mobile with the rest of the Panthers' staff, but has been unavailable for comment.

Rivera indicated he would like some resolution on the status of Chudzinski, who also interviewed for head-coaching vacancies in Jacksonville and St. Louis.

"We've heard nothing. Hopefully, we'll hear something by the end of the week," Rivera said. "We do know, from what I hear, they've brought in somebody for a second interview. So we'll see what happens."

CAPTAIN'S CHOICE: Wilks met one of his new players Tuesday when cornerback Captain Munnerlyn, who lives in Mobile in the offseason, stopped by Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

Several draft analysts believe the Panthers could take a cornerback with their first-round pick after Munnerlyn struggled in his first full season as a starter. According to Pro Football Focus, Munnerlyn allowed quarterbacks to complete 73.8 percent of their passes when they threw in his direction - the worst mark of any corner in the league.

Munnerlyn said he is tired of the talk that the Panthers need another corner.

"I'm sick of it. But if they do, the cornerback they draft has a rude awakening coming. I'm not just going to give you my position," Munnerlyn said.

"Or if they try to push him in front of me, I'm going to make some plays to make him go sit down. I'm a competitor."

Wilks did not question the desire of the 5-foot-8 corner.

"Just seeing him on film, I love the way he plays with the passion and heart," Wilks said. "Those are the kind of guys I love being around."

Despite one of the worst defensive seasons in team history, Rivera would not guarantee the Panthers will draft a defensive player when they pick 8th or 9th, pending a coin flip with Miami next month.

"There are so many things that could play into what's going to happen. To make that 100 percent assertion would be a little premature," Rivera said. "We've got to finish up our evaluations, finish up our studying of the draft. Then - unlike last year when we had the first pick and we were going to set the precedent - we're going to have to react to what happens in front of us."