Carolina Panthers legend Luke Kuechly is getting a familiar feeling, and that’s thanks to the admirable job Steve Wilks is currently doing.
The former linebacker and current Panthers radio analyst joined WFNZ’s The Mac Attack on Tuesday to talk some Carolina football. When asked if he feels the same way many fans do about promoting Wilks to the interim-less head-coaching position, he wholeheartedly agreed.
“Absolutely,” he said without hesitation. “It feels a lot like that 2014 season—when everybody counts you out, you kinda get hot, you kinda get on a roll, the team galvanizes together and you make a run. And I think that’s kinda the position where we’re at right now. There’s a really good energy around the building. There’s a lot of guys that are excited. There’s a lot of excitement.”
In 2014, Kuechly and the Panthers swept up the final month of their schedule—rattling off four straight wins to a 7-8-1 mark and an improbable NFC South crown. Wilks, of course, was there for that ride in his third season as the defensive backs coach.
Eight years later, Wilks is at the front of this ship—one that could take a similar trip to that of the 2014 squad. Being that Carolina is now in control of their own destiny, they too can win out to a division title at a not-so-sexy record.
Kuechly was then asked if he’d consider one day joining the team’s coaching staff—specifically under Wilks. And he didn’t say no . . .
“I gotta figure that out,” he said. “I’m working with South Charlotte Patriots football right now. I gotta see if I can get out of that contract. I gotta see if that’s a vertical move or if that’s a lateral move.”
To be fair, that Pop Warner gig—alongside former teammate and franchise great Greg Olsen—is a pretty cushy one. So it may take a lot to sway Kuechly back to an NFL sideline.
But until then, the Panthers might start partying like it’s 2014.
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