Early thoughts from Mizzou football’s Steve Wilks and what his defense might look like
As Steve Wilks ascended the ladder in the NFL, he drifted further from one of his favorite parts of coaching. No longer was he a positional coach and interacting with a few set players each day, instead focusing on big picture tasks.
Wilks was head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2018, a role that doubles as CEO with a slew of non-football responsibilities. Then he was defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns in 2019. Neither of those opportunities gave him much chance to be hands on with guys like Josh Norman, who went from a late round pick to All-Pro contributor.
Now that Wilks is Mizzou’s defensive coordinator, he said he’s fired up to coach a position once again.
It’s still early to talk specifics for the highest-paid assistant in MU history considering he’s just days on the job. Now that Wilks is back in the college game for the first time since 2005, he’s leaning into becoming a teacher for his players.
“Great communicator — that’s what coaching to me is about,” Wilks said. “What I mean by that is not how eloquent you may speak of the big words of which you use. It’s your ability to be able to relate to different players and how you can get the best out of them. That correlates with your teaching.”
Wilks said his scheme will consist of what he’s done in the past, mainly out of the base 4-3 front, which translates to four defensive linemen and three linebackers. But that comes with the caveat: SEC offenses aren’t the same as they were even five years ago.
Offenses like Alabama, Florida and others will spread defenders out, meaning Wilks said they’ll likely go to a 4-2-5 set to get an extra defensive back on the field. Wilks said he spent the past year off studying NFL and college film, picking up tendencies of the latest offensive trends.
“I got better this offseason really trying to look at my scheme and how I want to simplify things,” Wilks said. “I really came down to the conclusion that you really need to minimize the volume and maximize the execution.”
Simplify doesn’t mean make things easy, Wilks said. But it’s a natural instinct to counter teams who go up-tempo and no-huddle. Instead of having his guys “thinking,” he wants them to be able to process the play call, break the huddle and line up ready to go.
That goes back to what Wilks said about being a communicator. He noted it’s much easier to install a defense compared to installing a culture, which MU coach Eliah Drinkwitz has already set up. It’s why Wilks wanted to make the jump back to college, knowing MU could be a longer term option in his career.
“The one assessment is we have some talent on the defensive side of the ball,” Wilks said. “I felt like we can trend in the right direction for us moving forward. Trying to fill some pieces. Everything we do starts up front. That’s what I believe on this system.”
Wilks said he’s not committed to any vision or scheme yet for his defense yet. He’s just days on the job and still has to evaluate what he has in each positional room. And the defensive coordinator said he’s looking for a certain DNA from his players.
The No. 1 aspect is physicality and effort — when the film is turned on, “we want to make sure we’re known as the most physical football team.” Next is playing smart, where the Tigers can’t beat themselves. Lastly: Finish. Not just in the final quarter of the game, but in the class, weight room and training room.
“All great coaches take what they have and make it to what they want,” Drinkwitz said. “He’s obviously going to be able to transition what he’s got player-wise to make it fit the scheme. He understands what his DNA is.”
Wilks will go from coaching millionaires to young men, many of whom are still growing as people. He said he’s embracing that part of the college game again. That includes recruiting, which he said is all about relationships.
“I don’t think we get a lot of credit from the mere fact of, we’re like professors, we teach,” Wilks said. “I think that’s the most important thing. Your curriculum may be different based off your student. I think as a communicator, you gotta find different ways to get there.”