Kurt Coleman tells Panthers to ‘stop playing around’ and hire Steve Wilks

Kurt Coleman has seen enough.

On Monday night, the former Carolina Panthers safety implored his former employer to, well, employ Steve Wilks as their next full-time head coach. And he’s making no bones about it . . .

It’s time we make it official and hire my guy!!! Stop playing around and get it done so we can scout. https://t.co/s9dtQnbxdj

— Kurt Coleman (@k4coleman) January 24, 2023

Each of Coleman’s three seasons in Carolina came under Wilks’ guidance—who served as the team’s assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach from 2015 to 2017. Not so coincidentally, those three years were some of the best of Coleman’s career—as he notched career-highs in combined tackles (95), tackles for a loss (five), interceptions (seven), passes defensed (nine), sacks (1.0) and quarterback hits (two) as a Panther.

The retired defender is just the latest in a long, long line of current and former players to endorse Wilks for the organization’s vacancy. Coleman joins the likes of Shaq Thompson, Derrick Brown, Bradley Bozeman, Thomas Davis, Tre Boston and Torrey Smith—just to name a few.

By the end of Tuesday, the Panthers will have interviewed nine candidates for the opening—with only one having an established residence on “Thieves Ave.”