1. Strong connection with Rivera: Head coach Ron Rivera and new defensive coordinator Steve Wilks first worked together with the Bears in 2006. Rivera was the defensive coordinator and Wilks was the defensive backs coach for a team that advanced to Super Bowl XLI.
Rivera left for the Chargers in 2007, and Wilks followed suit in 2009, again coaching the secondary for a defense coordinated by Rivera.
When Rivera became the head coach for the Panthers in 2011, it was only a matter of time before Wilks came along – which he did in 2012.