Steve Wilks Releases Statement Following Panthers' Decision to Hire Frank Reich

The former Panthers interim head coach speaks.

Thursday afternoon, the Carolina Panthers officially put an end to their coaching search, announcing that they have agreed to terms with Frank Reich to be the sixth head coach in franchise history.

Reich beat out Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and Panthers interim head coach Steve Wilks. 

Friday morning, Wilks took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the situation.

pic.twitter.com/eqD0n4hXYg

— Steve Wilks (@ScoreonD) January 27, 2023

Interim head coaches typically have a lot of challenges that they have to deal with for obvious reasons and because of it, they rarely put themselves in a position to get the job full-time. Since 2013, only two coaches had a winning record during the time they held the interim role; Gregg Williams (5-3 with Browns in 2018) and Rich Bisaccia (7-5 with Raiders in 2021). Steve Wilks has the third-best record checking in at 6-6 but one could argue he had the most difficult situation to work through.

In his first game, the team had to start P.J. Walker at quarterback, a guy that wasn't going to make the roster if it weren't for injuries. They traded starting WR Robbie Anderson and oh yeah, the best player on the entire team, Christian McCaffrey. In addition to that, he lost several members of the coaching staff and had to hire a coach mid-season. Yet, somehow, Wilks had that team playing hard for him each and every week, and have them two wins away from winning the division. 

You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us on Twitter:

Facebook - @PanthersOnSI

Twitter - @AllPanthers_ and Schuyler Callihan at @Callihan_.