New Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks is quickly working to get his coaching staff in place, and he’s apparently looking at one of his former staffers with the Panthers to help lead his defense. Panthers linebacker coach Al Holcomb seems primed to follow Wilks to Arizona to become the team’s next defensive coordinator, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The team will move on from former Cardinals defensive coordinator James Bettcher after he was passed over for the head coaching job. This opens up an opportunity for Wilks to bring in someone that he’s familiar with to help translate the success he had in Carolina to the desert.
Holcomb has spent five seasons primarily coaching the Panthers linebackers. He’s worked with Wilks every year since he was hired by the Panthers back in 2013. Under Holcomb’s guidance, the Panthers have formed one of the best inside linebacker combos in the league with Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis. It’s unsurprising that Wilks would bring over a familiar face, especially on the defensive side of the ball, with the Panthers finishing as the seventh best total defense in the league last season.
Sweet! Sad to see Bettcher go though. But I guess changes were needed
Hopefully they stay with 3-4 defense…Chandler Jones and Markus Golden are BEASTS