Cleveland Browns should consider keeping defensive coordinator Steve Wilks

The Cleveland Browns moved on from head coach Freddie Kitchens just hours after their season ended. It leaves the future of some good coaches in doubt including Steve Wilks.

The Cleveland Browns didn’t waste any time when it came to making changes in the coaching staff. Head coach Freddie Kitchens was fired just hours after their final game, a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals who are the worst team in the NFL.

Kitchens was simply in over his head, having gone from a running backs coach to a head coach in less than a calendar year. By the end of the season, he seemed to have lost the respect of the locker room because they weren’t playing hard.

The defense didn’t record great numbers this year ranking 20th in points allowed and 22nd in yards allowed but there are several factors that contribute to that. Every team deals with injuries and Cleveland’s defense was no exception with players like Christian Kirksey, Denzel Ward, Greedy Williams, Morgan Burnett and Olivier Vernon all missing multiple games.

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Then there was the brawl that cost Myles Garrett the final six games of his season. Garrett had 10 sacks before he was suspended and was well on his way to being a candidate for defensive player of the year. Losing such an impact player had a tremendous effect on what the defense could do.

The offense also didn’t do much to help them. They turned the ball over at inopportune times and didn’t have enough sustained drives to give the defense a rest — overall, they ranked 17th in time of possession and that went down by more than two minutes the final three weeks of the season.

With all of that going on the Browns defense still carried their weight keeping the team in almost every game. That’s why whoever the next head coach is should consider keeping defensive coordinator Steve Wilks.

The rest of the coaching staff was told by the organization that they’re free to explore employment options elsewhere and Wilks might do it. He’s only spent two years as a defensive coordinator and one year as the coach of the Arizona Cardinals but he has great respect in the coaching community.

The one season he spent as the defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers they were seventh in yards allowed and 11 in points allowed. It is unlikely that he joins his old boss Ron Rivera with the Washington Redskins because he just hired his defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio so Wilkes would have to take a lesser role.

Wilks was actually retained by Rivera when the Panthers fired Norv Turner. So he has experience doing the same job under two different coaches.

This situation worked out for another team, the Green Bay Packers. They fired their head coach Mike McCarthy but kept their defensive coordinator Mike Pettine and now they have one of the best defenses in the NFL. It can be successful to keep some parts of a coaching staff that was fired.

If Cleveland drags their feet during the hiring process another coach might decide to add him to their staff and it can be hard to replace a quality coach.