Kirby
Wilson enters
his third season as the Steelers running backs coach. Wilson, who was hired on
Jan. 29, 2007, came to Pittsburgh with 20 years of coaching experience at both the
collegiate and professional levels.
Wilson, 47, helped Willie Parker earn his second consecutive Pro Bowl and
led the NFL in rushing through the first 16 weeks in 2007 before he broke his
leg in the second-to-last game of the season.
Wilson most recently was the running backs coach
for the Arizona Cardinals (2004-06) after spending two seasons as running backs
coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2002-03).
After one season (2001) as wide receiver
coach atSouthern California, Wilson joined head coach Jon Gruden’s staff in
Tampa
Bay in 2002. That season,
the trio of running backs Michael Pittman and Aaron Stecker and Pro Bowl
fullback Mike Alstott collectively gained over 1,400 rushing yards and helped
the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl XXXVII victory over Oakland. His 2003
backfield duo of Pittman (751 yards rushing/597 receiving) and Thomas Jones (627
yards rushing/180 receiving) accounted for nearly 40 percent (2,155) of the
Bucs’ 5,453 total net yards. Pittman’s 75 pass receptions led all NFC running
backs and were a single-season career-high.
Prior to his stint
with the Buccaneers, Wilson spent four years as running backs coach with the New
England Patriots (1997-99) and Washington Redskins (2000), tutoring a trio of
running backs, including Patriots backs Curtis Martin (1997) and Robert Edwards
(1998), and later Redskins running back Stephen Davis (2000). In addition,
Wilson honed the
skills of Washington fullback Larry Centers, who led his team with 80 pass
receptions in 2000. Centers (827 pass receptions) and Keith Byars (610
receptions), whom Wilson coached in New England in 1997, rank one and three in
career receptions by a running back in NFL history (Marshall Faulk is no. 2 at
723).
Wilson entered the coaching
arena on the staff at Pasadena (CA) City College (1985) as wide receivers coach,
and after obtaining a bachelor of arts degree from Eastern Illinois in 1989, returned to coaching at Los Angeles Southwest Community College (1989–90) as quarterbacks and wide receivers
coach. Following two seasons at Southern Illinois as linebackers coach (1991) and secondary coach/passing
game coordinator (1992), he joined the staff at Wyoming (1993-94) as secondary coach, helping
the Cowboys win the 1993 Western Athletic Conference title and earn an
appearance in the Copper Bowl.
Wilson coached running
backs at Iowa
State from 1995-96. Under
his guidance, Troy Davis earned all-America honors and led the nation with over
2,000 yards rushing in both ’95 and ‘96—the only player in NCAA history to reach
the 2,000-yard rushing mark in consecutive seasons.
A running back and
wide receiver at Pasadena Community College (1979–80) and the University of Illinois (1980–81), Wilson played two seasons
in the Canadian Football League as a defensive back and kick returner for the
Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1983) and Toronto Argonauts (1984).
Born August 24,
1961, in
Los Angeles,
Wilson was on
the football and track teams at Dorsey High School in his native Los
Angeles . He has five
children—sons Kris, Michael and Tyler, and daughters Malia and
Savanna.
