A former head coach joins the defensive staff
The Washington Commanders have hired veteran coach Steve Wilks as a part-time assistant on their defensive staff, according to reports on Wednesday. Wilks officially started last week, though the deal was reportedly agreed before the season began.
His role is limited. He helps head coach Dan Quinn and first-year defensive coordinator Daronte Jones with game-planning during the week, but he is not with the team on game days.
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What Wilks brings
Wilks is 57 and has coached in college and the NFL since 1995. He was head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2018, when they finished 3-13, and interim head coach of the Carolina Panthers in 2022, when they went 6-6 under him.
The coordinator résumé is longer. He ran defenses for the San Francisco 49ers (2023), the Panthers (2017 and 2022), Missouri (2021) and the Cleveland Browns (2019). Last season he was the New York Jets’ defensive coordinator, and he was fired on Dec. 15, 2025, after a 48-20 loss at Jacksonville left the Jets at 3-11.
A new coordinator learning on the job
The timing makes sense given who Washington is leaning on. Jones, 47, is in his first season with the Commanders. He spent five seasons as a Minnesota Vikings defensive assistant (2020, then 2022 through 2025) and was LSU’s defensive coordinator in 2021. He began his NFL career as an assistant defensive backs coach with the Miami Dolphins in 2016 and 2017, then coached the secondary for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2018 and 2019.
A coordinator in his first year with a new club gains from an extra experienced voice in the room. Because Wilks is away on Sundays, the practical impact will show up in the weekly plans rather than in-game decisions.
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