Panthers owner David Tepper accused of racism by ex-coach Steve Wilks' lawyers
The Carolina Panthers had what could be described as an up-and-down season. Interim head coach Steve Wilks was partly responsible for bringing calm to the organization.
After taking over from Matt Rhule, Wilks went 6-6 and had Carolina in playoff contention after Rhule started 1-4. It was a solid effort, and there was a belief that, given his achievements, the head coaching job could be his. That's not the case though as the Panthers are hiring former Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich.
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This has not gone down well, and lawyer Doug Wigdor, who represented Wilks in his racial discrimination case against the NFL, has put the Panthers on full blast for not hiring Wilks.
Wigdor said via Pro Football Talk:
“We are shocked and disturbed that after the incredible job Coach Wilks did as the interim coach, including bringing the team back into playoff contention and garnering the support of the players and fans, that he was passed over for the head coach position by David Tepper. There is a legitimate race problem in the NFL, and we can assure you that we will have more to say in the coming days.”
We are shocked and disturbed that after the incredible job Coach Wilks did as the interim coach, including bringing the team back into Playoff contention and garnering the support of the players and fans, that he was passed over for the Head Coach position by David Tepper(1/2) twitter.com/Panthers/statu…
This will make for interesting viewing over the next few days as the Panthers organization is now in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
Should Steve Wilks have been overlooked for head coaching job despite a decent season?
Taking over from Rhule with Carolina at 1-4 was a monumental task. No one really thought the season was salvageable, but Steve Wilks proved everyone wrong.
The interim coach garnered a great following from the players in the locker room after taking the team from 1-4 to 7-10.
Former Colts’ HC Frank Reich is being named the new head coach of the Carolina Panthers. Reich now returns to the franchise he quarterbacked in 1995.
Moreover, the Panthers didn't lose back-to-back games once Steve Wilks took over. That's something to hang your hat on.
But it appears that all Wilks' good work mounted to nothing as Reich was given the job over him.
We can assume this is not the last we hear of this situation.