The New York Jets host the Carolina Panthers in Week 7.
Ahead of that matchup, defensive coordinator Steve Wilks was asked if this game has any extra juice considering it’s his old team.
“To be quite honest, no,” Wilks bluntly told the media on Thursday, October 16.
“When you look at the next game mindset and where we are right now, it is just really trying to create some consistency in what we had last week defensively and trying to put together another great performance. So to be honest, no,” Wilks explained.
The Panthers-Wilks Multiverse
Wilks, 56, was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, where the Panthers are headquartered.
He was raised in the area, went to high school at West Charlotte, and went to college at Appalachian State in Boone, North Carolina. After college, he played a year of Arena Football for the Charlotte Rage in 1993.
Wilks quickly hung up his cleats and transitioned into coaching, where he has resided for the last 30 years. He was hired by the Carolina Panthers in 2012 and spent six seasons there through 2017 in a variety of roles: defensive backs coach, assistant head coach, and defensive coordinator.
He returned to the team for a second stint in 2022, serving initially as the defensive passing game coordinator and as the secondary coach.
Matt Rhule was fired in October, and Wilks was named the interim head coach for the final 12 games of that season. He rallied the Panthers, and they finished with a 6-6 record under his leadership.
Wilks did such a terrific job that nearly the entire locker room thought he earned the gig full-time, per ESPN’s David Newton.
Wilks interviewed for the permanent job after the season but was ultimately passed over for Frank Reich. Reich ended up getting fired in November of his first season with Carolina.
Can Lighting Strike Twice in the Same Place for the Jets?
The Jets are 0-6 on the season, but the reason they lost in Week 6 wasn’t on the defense.
Finally, for the first time all season, they got off the ground and punched back. It was an impressive defensive performance, which leaves everyone wondering where it had been all season.
Bo Nix only threw for 174 passing yards, the Denver Broncos’ run game was stifled (78 rushing yards), and the team forced its first takeaway of the season.
Was that a blip on the radar? Or a sign of things to come?
“I think it’s our approach in practice, and I think it really starts with our players. There is tremendous character in that room and in how those guys come to work, regardless of the record — the record is what it is — but you wouldn’t know that based on how we operate in the building,” Wilks said.
“I have talked to the guys about this, and we all agree, we’ve got to find one or two more plays. It was great to get our first takeaway; we’ve got to find the ability to get one more,” Wilks explained. “We are still finding ways within ourselves, even though ‘it was a good performance’, we gotta do better. That is the thing that is intriguing with these guys, they want to.”
Jets Have to Take Advantage
The good news for the Jets’ defense is that the schedule is lightening up.
Over the next month, they play Bryce Young, Joe Flacco, and Dillon Gabriel with a bye week sprinkled in the middle. Those aren’t daunting opposing quarterbacks.
If the Jets’ defense can’t eat against these passers, it’s going to continue to be a long year on the defensive side of the ball.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Jets DC Steve Wilks Has 5 Words for Panthers Revenge Game Angle appeared first on Heavy Sports.