Steven Bernard Wilks (born August 8, 1969) is an American football coach and former player who is the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He was the head coach for the Arizona Cardinals in 2018. He has also been the defensive backs coach for the Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers, and the defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns and Missouri. Wilks is a two-time NFC Champion, winning with the Bears in 2006 and with the Panthers in 2015, losing the Super Bowl on both occasions. Playing career Wilks played defensive back from 1987 to 1991 at Appalachian State. Wilks played one year (1993) in the Arena Football League for the Charlotte Rage as a wide receiver, defensive back, and kick returner. Coaching career College Wilks served as head football coach at Savannah State College for one season (1999) and compiled a record of 5–6. Chicago Bears Wilks was hired by the Chicago Bears as defensive backs coach on February 16, 2006. The Bears announced on December 30, 2008, that they had fired Wilks. San Diego Chargers Wilks was hired as defensive backs coach of the San Diego Chargers in 2009 when former Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera moved to the same position in San Diego. Carolina Panthers When Rivera became head coach of the Panthers, he hired Wilks as secondary coach on January 15, 2012. He was promoted to assistant head coach in 2015. He was Pro Football Focus's second runner up to their Secondary Coach of the Year award. In the 2015 season, Wilks and the Panthers finished 15–1 and reached Super Bowl 50 on February 7, 2016. The Panthers fell to the Denver Broncos by a score of 24–10. After defensive coordinator Sean McDermott left to become head coach of the Buffalo Bills, Wilks was promoted to McDermott's former position. After the 2017 season, Wilks was an extremely hot commodity for teams in need of new head coaches. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, teams were impressed by Wilks's interview with the Los Angeles Rams in the previous offseason before they eventually hired Sean McVay. Wilks interviewed with the New York Giants who had hired his former boss in Carolina, ex-Panthers general manager David Gettleman. Arizona Cardinals On January 22, 2018, Wilks was hired as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, replacing Bruce Arians, who