Panthers coach joins Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL alleging racial discrimination
Steve Wilks, the Panthers’ secondary coach and defensive passing game coordinator, is joining Brian Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL alleging racial discrimination in its hiring practices.
Wilks alleges that the Arizona Cardinals discriminated against him when they fired him in 2018 after one season as head coach.
“Mr. Wilks was hired as a ‘bridge coach’ and was not given any meaningful chance to succeed,” the complaint states. “He was unfairly and discriminatorily fired after just one season.”
The Cardinals hired Wilks in 2018 after spending a season as the Panthers’ defensive coordinator under Ron Rivera. The Cardinals finished the 2018 season, 3-13, setting them up for the No. 1 pick in the draft.
Coaches are rarely fired after one season unless their lone seasons are mired with controversy, similar to Urban Meyer in Jacksonville.
Wilks’ time wasn’t.
The lawsuit alleges that Cardinals general manager Steve Keim, who is white, made poor personnel decisions and was convicted for a DUI that offseason, yet was still given a contract extension, while he was fired.
“Mr. Wilks was replaced by a white coach, Kliff Kingsbury, who had no prior NFL coaching experience and was coming off of multiple losing seasons as a Head Coach at Texas Tech,” the lawsuit states.
“Mr. Kingsbury, armed with quarterback Kyler Murray, has been given a much longer leash than Mr. Wilks and, to his credit, has succeeded. That said, Mr. Wilks, given the same opportunity afforded to Mr. Kingsbury, surely would have succeeded as well.”
At the time Wilks was hired, the Cardinals didn’t have a franchise quarterback. Wilks alleges in the lawsuit that before the 2018 NFL draft, he urged Cardinals general manager Steve Keim to trade up to the seventh spot to draft quarterback Josh Allen, who is now considered one of the top quarterbacks in the league.
However, the Cardinals traded up to the 10th spot and drafted Josh Rosen. Rosen was 3-10 as a starter in Arizona, and has not started a game since the 2019 season. He was cut midseason by the Falcons last season.
Since being fired at Arizona, Wilks hasn’t landed another head coaching opportunity. He was defensive coordinator of the Browns in 2019 and was defensive coordinator at Missouri in 2021 before the Panthers hired him in February.
Flores filed his lawsuit against the NFL and three teams in February alleging racial discrimination in its hiring practices. In his initial lawsuit, he pointed to Wilks’ firing as an example of racial discrimination after one season.
“When Coach Flores filed this action, I knew I owed it to myself, and to all Black NFL coaches and aspiring coaches, to stand with him,” Wilks said in a statement Thursday. “This lawsuit has shed further important light on a problem that we all know exists, but that too few are willing to confront. Black coaches and candidates should have exactly the same ability to become employed, and remain employed, as white coaches and candidates.
“That is not currently the case, and I look forward to working with Coach Flores and Coach Horton to ensure that the aspiration of racial equality in the NFL becomes a reality.”
Also joining Wilks and Flores is Ray Horton, who alleges he was given a sham interview for the Tennessee Titans head coaching position in 2016.
Panthers coach Matt Rhule hired Wilks in February n to replace Jason Simmons, who left Carolina for a similar position in Las Vegas.
Before re-joining the Panthers in February, Wilks, a Charlotte native, spent six seasons with the Panthers from 2012-2017. In 2017, he was promoted to defensive coordinator. The Panthers finished 11-5 and made the playoffs that season.
“The decisions we made after the 2018 season were very difficult ones,” the Arizona Cardinals said in a statement via a spokesperson. “But as we said at the time, they were entirely driven by what was in the best interests of our organization and necessary for team improvement. We are confident that the facts reflect that and demonstrate that these allegations are untrue.”
This story was originally published April 7, 2022 at 1:23 PM.
