Although it wouldn’t quite be pulling a Jeff Saturday, the Carolina Panthers could potentially be bringing a franchise icon onto their coaching staff.
Appearing Tuesday on WFNZ Radio in Charlotte, retired Panthers legend Luke Kuechly offered some high praise for Carolina’s interim coach Steve Wilks. Kuechly said that Wilks, who was a defensive coach for Carolina during Kuechly’s NFL career, is “fun to be around,” “knows the game extremely well,” and “treats the [players] great.”
Kuechly was then asked by one of the hosts if there was a possibility that he could join Wilks as an assistant on his staff. Notably enough, Kuechly did not rule it out.
“I gotta figure that out,” replied Kuechly. “I’m working with South Shore 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 a lateral move.”
While Kuechly’s answer was obviously a bit light-hearted, there is reason to believe that he might eventually return to the Panthers as a coach. Upon his retirement from the NFL in 2020, rumors emerged that Kuechly was hoping to get into coaching. Although that has yet to materialize, Kuechly did recently reunite with his former team in a different capacity.
A seven-time All-Pro linebacker in eight seasons with the Panthers, Kuechly walked away from the game at just 28 years old. He remains a beloved figure in Carolina, however, and now seems like a potential future assistant for them now that the energy is really starting to change under Wilks.
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