PHOTO | TROY HULL

Carolina Panthers interim head coach Steve Wilks, who grew up in Charlotte’s Hidden Valley community, earned his first win Sunday against Tampa Bay. “That definitely wasn’t a team out there today that was trying to tank it,” he said.

Steve Wilks won’t give up on the Panthers. Or himself.

After his team beat Tampa Bay 21-3 Sunday – Wilks’ first as Carolina’s interim coach and first by a Black coach in franchise history – he addressed what the rest of the football world and most fans were thinking. By firing coach Matt Rhule and trading offensive contributors Robbie Anderson and Christian McCaffrey over an eight-day stretch, the Panthers had given up the ghost.

It goes this way: If you’re not in the playoff hunt, you might as well do your best (or is it worst?) to snag a franchise-defining player in 2023 via the draft or trade. It’s called tanking, but Wilks nipped that assumption in the bud.

“That definitely wasn’t a team out there … that was trying to tank it,” he said in his opening statement.

Trying to tank and a definite lack of competitive assets are two different things. Wilks, who grew up in Charlotte, played football at West Charlotte High and launched his coaching career at Johnson C. Smith, talked about focusing on the moment with the team on hand. But the T-word was on his heart. After all, he brought it up before anyone could ask about it.

“It didn’t bother me because I really keep my focus on the men in this room right here each and every day,” Wilks said. “But I just want to put it out there and let you know these men in this room have too much character to even dive into something like that.”

Fine. The Panthers certainly better than the crew that was rolled a week earlier by the Rams. The defense didn’t concede a touchdown against Tampa Bay, which by the way, still has Tom Brady at quarterback.

Carolina’s quarterback, the often maligned and overlooked P.J. Walker, was controlled, competent and accurate enough to toss a pair of touchdowns with no interceptions.
Shoot, it was almost dominant, which was a ray of sunshine in what’s expected to be an overcast season. It was a neat accomplishment, but Wilks understands he can’t make a team achievement personal, even in his hometown.

“It feels good, but I know it’s a broken record man,” he said. “I really try not to keep the focus on me. It’s about team, one of 11, many parts and one body of work. That’s what I believe in.”

Perhaps he believes in redemption, too, and the possibility of grabbing some in Charlotte. The Panthers might be Wilks’ last best chance to show he’s capable of leading a team without interim limitations. He was dumped after one season as the Arizona Cardinals’ head coach, a personal and professional disaster because he wasn’t given the tools, talent, or time to succeed.

Wilks’ successor in Arizona, Kliff Kingsbury, came in from the collegiate ranks as a wunderkind who would set the NFL on its ear. Four years later, the NFL is still a step ahead of Kingsbury, but he still has the job.  

Could it be a melanin thing? Dang right, and every thinking person with a fleeting history of the NFL’s Black folks problem when it comes to leadership roles knows. But Wilks has a chance to change the narrative by proving he’s worthy of another chance – in Charlotte, or perhaps somewhere else.

Sunday was a good start. Seven weeks into the season, Carolina is hardly a world beater at 2-5, but the NFC South is underwhelming as a group with no team playing above .500.

The Panthers are a game behind first-place Tampa Bay and Atlanta, so they have a chance to go somewhere. Wilks’ job is to make sure his players are prepared to take advantage of the opportunity.

“I stood in front of these guys at the beginning when I first took over here and I said, ‘you know, in order for us to go forward, we are going to have to surrender their individual me for the greater we,’” he said. “That’s what it’s all about. It’s not about certain individuals. It’s not about me. When we continue to keep the focus on us, I think we have a chance.”

Pull it off, and maybe Wilks will get his opportunity, too.

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