The Carolina Panthers have hired Steve Wilks as their secondary coach/passing defense coordinator.
Wilks replaces Ron Meeks, one of two holdovers from coach John Fox's staff.
A Charlotte native, Wilks coached the past three seasons with San Diego. In 2009, he helped the Chargers advance 20 spots in the NFL pass defense rankings. The Chargers led the NFL in pass defense in 2010.
Wilks worked with current Panthers coach Ron Rivera in San Diego from 2009 through 2010 also with him in Chicago and was a member of the Bears' 2006 NFC championship team coaching staff.
Before coming to the NFL, Wilks was a head coach and assistant coach on the college level for 11 seasons and played at Appalachian State.
BRONCOS: The debate over Tim Tebow's worthiness as an NFL quarterback will undeniably continue in the offseason.
What's not in doubt is his status as Denver's starter.
The team declared Tebow the incumbent at a season-ending news conference Monday.
"Well, I think Tim's earned the right to be the starting quarterback going into training camp next year," Broncos boss John Elway said.
"I think he made some good strides this year," Elway said. "He obviously played very well against Pittsburgh and played very well in a lot of football games."
And poorly in others.
Elway, a Hall of Famer who rejoined the team a year ago as chief of football operations, has pledged to work with Tebow to polish his passing game.
COACHING MOVES: Mike Martz, who recently parted ways with the Chicago Bears as their offensive coordinator, told NFL.com that he is retiring from coaching to pursue other unspecified opportunities.
Martz won a Super Bowl with the St. Louis Rams as an offensive coordinator, and he went 53-32 as their head coach. He ran the Bears' offense for the past two years.
- Gregg Williams, the New Orleans Saints' defensive coordinator, has agreed to take the same job with the Rams, NFL.com reported, citing league sources.
Williams had served as defensive coordinator for Jeff Fisher, whom the Rams recently hired as head coach, from 1997 to 2000 when Fisher was leading the Tennessee Titans.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement