Former NFL Coach Named Possibility For The North Carolina Job
11/26/2024 05:37 PM
The first major college football coaching job is now open, as North Carolina elected to fire veteran head coach Mack Brown before their final game of the season this weekend.
Brown, a former national champion, is leaving a program in the ACC as uncertainty continues to surround college football through conference realignment. The program's next head coach will need to navigate that as much as any on-field challenge they may face at UNC.
With those issues in mind, one Carolina Panthers insider says that a former member of the team's staff could be a possible candidate to replace Brown as the head coach in Chapel Hill.
Panthers insider Joe Person said he "wouldn't be surprised if Steve Wilks draws interest from UNC," along with other job openings around the NFL.
Wouldn't be surprised if Steve Wilks draws interest from UNC, in addition to NFL openings. Wilks helped out at Charlotte this yr in volunteer advisory role.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) November 26, 2024
The CLT native had strong rapport with Panthers players, including UNC great Julius Peppers and former Tar Heel Tre Boston.
Person noted that Wilks has worked for the Charlotte 49ers this season in an advisory role, and that he's also worked closely with Julius Peppers and Tre Boston - two former North Carolina players.
Wilks' last NFL job was as the defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers, who fired him after their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
He has around three decades of coaching experience at the college and pro levels, culminating in NFL head coaching opportunities with the Arizona Cardinals and the Panthers on an interim basis.
Wilks has only been a head coach in college once before, working for Division II HBCU Savannah State in 1999, where he went 5-6.
Brown will finish the season for North Carolina, coaching them in their final game of the season against longtime rival NC State.
"While this was not the perfect time and way in which I imagined going out, no time will ever be the perfect time," Brown said in a statement after the news of his dismissal was released.
"I've spent 16 seasons at North Carolina and will always cherish the memories and relationships [my wife] Sally and I have built while serving as head coach."
We'll see if Wilks is on UNC's radar for a new head coach as they continue to nagivate the uncertainty of college football in 2024 and beyond.
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