Former Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Steve Wilks has had a rough past couple of seasons.
But, he wants to make sure his next job will offer much more longevity than his previous 2.
Wilks was fired after only year as the Cardinals head coach in 2018 in which his team went 3-13.
He then only survived one year as the defensive coordinator for the Browns when they decided to fire head coach Freddie Kitchens.
Wilks, while still being paid by the Cardinals, has recently spoken with former colleague Ron Rivera about a possible job in Washington.
The Redskins’ reportedly offered Wilks an assistant HC/secondary job.
It is also reported that Wilks has met with Giants GM Dave Gettlemen about a potential role.
Gettlemen and Wilks spent 5 years in Carolina together.
But, Wilks says he will be taking a year off before he gets back into the NFL again.
“When you go through two years like I did, you want to make sure that the next [job] is gonna have some longevity. You don’t want to go into a situation where there may be some speculation there, and all of a sudden you find yourself [and] it’s three years in a row,” Wilks said, via Joseph Person of TheAthletic.com. “Just really the thing about this league, there’s not really a lot of patience anymore. You’ve got to win now. I definitely want to get back into it as quickly as possible.”
The past 13 months have been tough for Steve Wilks. The Charlotte native + former Panthers assistant coach was fired twice. He decided 2020 will be different.
He’s staying home and enjoying a little of the life he’s missed.
✏️ FEATURE | @josephperson https://t.co/xfAUvfjsmH pic.twitter.com/GR8fc6piON
— The Athletic Carolina (@TheAthleticCAR) March 5, 2020
Wilks’s unit with the Browns didn’t have the best year compared to the rest of the league.
They had the 3rd-worst rushing defense at 144.7 yards per game.
The passing defense was a lot better, boasting the 7th-best defensive unit against the pass at just 216.9 yards allowed per game.
And in the main category of points allowed per game, the Browns were in the bottom half of the league at 20th, allowing 24.6 points per contest.
#Browns team grades and ranks:
Overall – 80.1 (23rd)
Offense – 76.8 (13th)
Defense – 71.3 (27th)— PFF CLE Browns (@PFF_Browns) January 2, 2019
Wilks still resides in Cleveland with his family and plans to spend the year studying film while visiting teams during training camp.
He’s hoping 2021 and beyond will bring him a more successful run in coaching.
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Wish Steve all the luck in the world. He certainly has gotten the short end 2 years running and none of it was completely his doing.