Report: Ron Rivera would bring Steve Wilks to Redskins as defensive coordinator

If the Washington Redskins do in fact hire Ron Rivera, he may already have his defensive coordinator lined up. It would be Steve Wilks, who worked with him in Carolina.

As on Monday morning, all signs are pointing to Ron Rivera being the next head coach of the Washington Redskins. Rivera is set to interview with the team on Monday, but that may be more of a formality than anything else. Rivera appears to be the Redskins No. 1 choice and the ‘Skins appear to be Rivera’s top choice as well.

So, with Rivera looking like the next head coach of the Redskins, the attention is now turning toward who will make up Rivera’s staff. And after several years of trouble at the defensive coordinator position, it looks like the team may have a legitimately solid coordinator coming in along with Rivera.

According to Michael Phillips of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Rivera is planning on bringing Steve Wilks along with him to be the team’s defensive coordinator.

Wilks has a long-running relationship with Rivera. He has worked under him since 2006 when the duo was with the Chicago Bears. Wilks served as a defensive backs coach under Rivera with the Bears, the then-San Diego Chargers, and the Carolina Panthers before being promoted to the defensive coordinator spot in Carolina for the 2017 season. During that season, Wilks’ defense ranked seventh in total yardage and 11th in scoring defense and it was enough to get him a head-coaching job with the Arizona Cardinals.

Wilks’ time in Arizona didn’t go very well. He simply wasn’t a fit for the Cardinals and struggled to implement his 4-3 defense in a team with personnel better suited for a 3-4 scheme. He was fired after one year in the desert but was a hot-name coordinator during the 2019 offseason.

Unfortunately for Wilks, he landed with the Cleveland Browns and the Browns struggled to live up to lofty expectations with Freddie Kitchens at the helm. Wilks’ defense ended up finishing with slightly below-average marks, but part of that was due to the fact that he was without his best player, Myles Garrett, for the final six games of the season.

Wilks has worked well with Rivera in the past. He has developed talent at the defensive back position everywhere he goes, including Josh Norman, James Bradberry, and Greedy Williams. Perhaps he could work with some of the team’s young corner talent and really up the team’s game by switching to a 4-3 base.

Either way, Wilks is still a young, bright defensive mind who should thrive again if paired with Rivera. He’s had a couple of tough years, but the 50-year-old could easily bounce back if he and Rivera team up to implement a defensive system similar to the one they used in 2017, the Redskins defense will be greatly improved.

And no matter what, Wilks would be a big upgrade over Greg Manusky at the coordinator position.