Steve Wilks, Who Claims Discrimination For Being Fired After One Season, Fired In One Season A Fourth Time

New York Jets coach Aaron Glenn had seen enough after the defense gave up 40 points on Sunday, so on Monday morning he fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks after only 14 games. And that could have legal ramifications down the road.

FLORHAM PARK, NEW JERSEY - JANUARY 27: New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn is introduced to the media at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center on January 27, 2025 in Florham Park, New Jersey. (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Getty Images)

Glenn Fires Steve Wilks

"This decision that I made late last night, and I talked to him this morning, and I felt like it was the best decision for the organization at this time," Glenn told reporters. "And I've said this all along that I'm evaluating players, I'm evaluating coaches, I'm evaluating myself. 

"And I just felt like this was the best decision for right now for the team and for this organization."

So how is a coach being fired before he completes his first season with an NFL team that loses a lot involve legal matters? Well, because it happens. And it apparently happens a lot to Wilks.

And that's the point.

This marks the fourth time Wilks has been fired after serving one year or less in a high-ranking NFL coaching post. 

• Wilks had a one-year stint as the Arizona Cardinals head coach in 2018.
• He had a one-year stint as the Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator in 2019.
• He had a one-year stint as the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator in 2023.
• And he obviously lasted one season – 14 games to be exact – as the Jets defensive coordinator.

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - NOVEMBER 09: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT)  New York Jets defensive coordinator Steve Wilks looks on against the Cleveland Browns at MetLife Stadium on November 09, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Jets defeated the Browns 27-20. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Wilks Fired After One Year Four Times

Wilks has worked for five different franchises during the past decade. And he's been fired from his job in one season or less by four of those franchises.

That matters legally because Wilks joined a racial discrimination lawsuit against the NFL and, in his case, the Cardinals in April of 2022.  Wilks was added as a named plaintiff to the Brian Flores lawsuit filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York. 

The amended complaint includes Wilks’s claim that the Cardinals discriminated against him when he was hired as head coach for the 2018 season and then fired after just one year without being given a meaningful opportunity to succeed over a longer period of time.

The lawsuit asserts that Wilks was treated as a so-called bridge coach. He claims he was given the head coach job without the team's genuine long-term intent to keep him there. 

Wilks has stated that joining the original lawsuit was motivated by a desire to help address systemic inequities in NFL coaching opportunities for black candidates.

Steve Wilks was head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2018, compiling a 3-13 record (.188 winning %).

Cardinals Firing May Look Routine

But here's the growing problem for Wilks in his portion of the suit:

The same coach who claimed discrimination because he was not given ample time to succeed in Arizona was obviously fired within the same time frame three more times in the next eight seasons.

But so far, he has brought discrimination allegations of racism only against the Cardinals.

So, the defendant's lawyers will certainly contend that what the Cardinals did in firing Wilks after one bad year was repeated multiple times by other teams and is thus routine given Wilks's coaching history. 

Cardinals lawyers may also contend that if Wilks had no issues with being fired after one year by other teams – obvious because he didn't sue them -- then he should not have an issue with being fired after one year by the Cardinals.

Dec 14, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; New York Jets defensive end Micheal Clemons (72) chases after Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) during the second quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Travis Register-Imagn Images

Jets Defense Poor Under Wilks

It should be noted the Jets had a bottom three scoring defense under Wilks, allowing 28.4 points per game. That is not good. 

But that is comparatively better than the results Wilks got out of his team in Arizona. The Cardinals finished with a 3-13 record under Wilks. 

And that was not only the worst record of any NFL team that season, it was the worst record the Cardinals had at that time in nearly 20 years.

The Flores suit, by the way, is bogged down in the NFL's seemingly endless attempts to keep it out of open court and in arbitration behind closed doors. The league has lost on that front multiple times.

If that continues, we may yet see the Wilks legal team try to prove that getting fired after one season is discriminatory by the Cardinals, even if it is not by the Browns, 49ers and now the Jets.