Steve Wilks Promoted to Carolina Panthers Defensive Coordinator

The Carolina Panthers were left with a hole to fill in their coaching staff after defensive coordinator Sean McDermott agreed to become the head coach of the Buffalo Bills on Wednesday, and they didn't go far to find his replacement.

The Panthers announced Friday that they promoted assistant head coach and secondary coach Steve Wilks to be his replacement.

On Wednesday, ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported that Wilks was the favorite to take over as defensive coordinator.

Wilks recently completed his fifth season as the Panthers' secondary coach and second as assistant head coach.

It was a disappointing one, as Carolina followed up a 15-1 NFC Championship Game-winning campaign in 2015 with a 6-10 2016 season in which his secondary experienced a noticeable drop in production:

2015 (League Rank)	Stat	2016 (League Rank)
3,752 (11th)	Passing Yards Allowed	4,291 (29th)
21 (7th)	Passing TD Allowed	27 (20th)
24 (1st)	Interceptions	17 (4th)

A lot of that could be attributed to the departure of top cornerback Josh Norman prior to the 2016 season.

Wilks held a similar position with the San Diego Chargers, as the 47-year-old was secondary coach from 2009-2011 and the team's assistant head coach in 2011 under Norv Turner.

He was also a defensive backs coach with the Chicago Bears from 2006-2008, helping the team to Super Bowl XLI with a defense that led the NFL with 44 turnovers.

Giving Wilks the defensive coordinator nod provides the unit with familiarity at the position, which would make an almost seamless transition for a Panthers team that is trying to turn things around heading into 2017. 

Stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com.