Former Cardinals coach offers major testimony about alleged burner scheme

Former Arizona Cardinals coach Steve Wilks offered testimony backing up a whistleblower’s allegations about a burner phone scheme.

Wilks testified that a team executive gave him a burner phone under orders from then-GM Steve Keim and owner Michael Bidwill in order to communicate with Keim during the GM’s suspension, according to a deposition transcript obtained by Tisha Thompson of ESPN. Wilks testified that he was told to use the burner phone to communicate with Keim while the GM was suspended for drunk driving in 2018.

“It was a directive from Keim as well as Bidwill. They both knew,” Wilks alleged.

Wilks testified that Bidwill initially ordered him not to communicate with Keim when the suspension was handed down, but that changed in July when he was given a burner phone by a member of the organization. Wilks said he was uncomfortable with the situation and said the phone was only retrieved once Keim’s suspension was over and he had returned to the building.

The allegations stem from those made by former executive Terry McDonough, who filed a complaint against the NFL alleging that the Cardinals used burner phones to communicate while Keim was suspended. The Cardinals have denied the allegation and said Bidwill took “swift action” to put a stop to any such plan. Wilks’ testimony would dispute that and back the original complaint made by McDonough.

Wilks coached the Cardinals for one season in 2018, going 3-13 before being fired. He was widely praised for his work as the Carolina Panthers interim coach in 2022 and parlayed that into a pretty good defensive coordinator job this season.