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The claim filed by former Arizona coach Steve Wilks against the Cardinals focuses on the notion that he was a “bridge coach,” specifically hired with the notion that he’d be fired, sooner than later, at a time when the team was expected to not be competitive.
As Wilks closed in on the end of his only season with the team, a key player who ultimately only had two seasons left in the NFL made it clear that he was willing to wager his NFL future on Wilks.
“We all would want him back,” Fitzgerald said at the time. “I love Wilks. Great dude. We all play hard for him. That’s the team — not me alone — speaking on it.”
That’s a strong statement from Fitzgerald. It wasn’t strong enough to save Wilks, but it speaks to the quality of the man and the coach. And it breathes some life into the notion that Wilks perhaps shouldn’t have been the fall guy after a failed season.
The fact that Wilks got only one year could become a major issue in the litigation that Wilks joined this week. The lawsuit focuses not only on the lack of Black head coaches who are hired by NFL teams but also on the standard to which they’re held when they get one of the 32 jobs.
Regardless, one of the most popular players in franchise history believed that Wilks should have gotten another chance. Chances are that, at some point in the litigation, Larry Fitzgerald will be asked to state his position (and elaborate on it) from the witness stand.
