Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn suggested changes were coming to the team during the bye. On Wednesday, a change the Commanders made last week became public.
NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported Wednesday afternoon the Commanders have hired Steve Wilks to their staff. Wilks has NFL head coaching experience from tenures with the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers.
“The Commanders have hired Steve Wilks to work with the defensive coaches under Dan Quinn and Darone Jones, per me and Ian Rapoport,” wrote Garafolo on X. “The decision to hire Wilks was made last month. He started last week.
“Wilks will help with game planning. He won’t be with the team on game days.”
The Athletic’s Nick Jhabvala added more details about the unusual coaching arrangement the Commanders will have with Wilks. Jhabvala referred to Wilks as a “part-time assistant.”
“He doesn’t do game days; comes in on Sundays and leaves after practice on Wednesdays,” wrote Jhabvala.
Both reporters emphasized that Wilks started before the Commanders lost to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night. Washington is not adding Wilks during the bye week as a response to its 1-4-1 start.
“The hiring is not in response to anything that happened in recent weeks or an indictment on Daronte Jones as DC,” added Jhabvala. “This has been in the works since before the start of the season, but he officially started last week.”
Wilks went 3-13 as a head coach with the Cardinals during the 2018 campaign. In that season, Arizona started Sam Bradford and Josh Rosen behind center.
As an interim head coach with the Panthers during 2022, Wilks led the team to a 6-6 record. Last season, Wilks was the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets.
Commanders Add Ex-Head Coach to Defensive Staff: Report