Commanders hire Steve Wilks for part-time defensive game-planning role

The Washington Commanders have hired former NFL head coach Steve Wilks as a part-time defensive assistant, The Associated Press reported Wednesday, October 21, citing a person with knowledge of the decision. Wilks will help plan games but will not be with the team on game days, giving Washington additional defensive coaching support as it enters its bye week with a 1-4-1 record.

The person spoke to the AP anonymously because the team had not announced the move. Newsweek separately reported the hire, citing NFL Network reporters Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport. In a post quoted by Newsweek, Garafolo said the decision to hire Wilks was made last month and that he started working with the staff last week. Neither report gave an exact date for the decision or his start.

Steve Wilks’s role with Washington

Washington comes into its bye after a 23-17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night, Newsweek reported. The AP said the Commanders rank 26th in the NFL in yards allowed per game. Those figures give the defensive addition immediate relevance for a team trying to improve after a difficult start, though the reports describe Wilks’s duties as limited to preparation during the week.

Wilks’s NFL coaching record

Wilks was head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2018, when they went 3-13, according to Newsweek. He later served as defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns in 2019, the 49ers in 2023 and the New York Jets in 2025, the AP reported. Newsweek also noted that he went 6-6 as the Carolina Panthers’ interim head coach in 2022.

The Commanders are due to face the Philadelphia Eagles on November 1 after their bye, according to Newsweek. Wilks’s reported assignment would keep him involved in preparing the defense for games without placing him on the sideline when Washington plays.