Kirby Keyes Wilson (born August 24, 1961) is an American football coach who has previously served as a running backs coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He coached for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

, Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers,

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns,

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

and

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

/ Las Vegas Raiders. He was previously the head coach for the

Pittsburgh Maulers Pittsburgh Maulers may refer to: * Pittsburgh Maulers (1984), United States Football League team * Pittsburgh Maulers (2022) The Pittsburgh Maulers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Maulers compet ...

of the United States Football League (USFL).

Playing career

High school

Wilson prepped at Dorsey High School in Los Angeles.

College

Wilson played at the University of Illinois after transferring from

Pasadena City College Pasadena City College (PCC) is a Public college, public community college in Pasadena, California. History Pasadena, California, Pasadena City College was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. From 1928 to 1953, it operated as a four- ...

. He obtained a bachelor of arts degree from

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

in 1989.

Canadian Football League

Wilson played two seasons in the Canadian Football League as a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

and kick returner for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Toronto Argonauts between 1983 and 1984.

Coaching career

College

At the college level, Wilson has coached at

, Los Angeles Southwest College, Southern Illinois, Wyoming,

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

and

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

. Kirby is a member of

Iota Phi Theta Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded on September 19, 1963, at Morgan State University (then Morgan State College) in Baltimore, Maryland, and is currently the 5th largest Black Greek Le ...

fraternity. Prior to making the jump to the NFL, he coached Iowa State running back Troy Davis to a year where he ran for over 2,000 yards in 1995 and over 2,100 yards in 1996.

New England Patriots

In 1997, Wilson was hired by the

as their running backs coach.

Washington Redskins

In 2000, Wilson was hired by the Washington Redskins as their running backs coach.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

In 2002, Wilson was hired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as their running backs coach.

Arizona Cardinals

In 2004, Wilson was hired by the

as their running backs coach.

Pittsburgh Steelers

In January 2007, Wilson was hired by the

as their running backs coach, after the retirement of Dick Hoak. He was hired when Mike Tomlin took over the team, following Bill Cowher's resignation.

Minnesota Vikings

In 2014, Wilson was hired by the Minnesota Vikings as their running backs coach.

Cleveland Browns

In 2016, Wilson was hired by the Cleveland Browns as their running backs coach.

Return to Arizona

On February 14, 2018, Wilson returned to the

after they hired him as their running backs coach.

Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders

On February 15, 2019, Wilson was hired by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

as their running backs coach. On July 16, 2021, Wilson announced his retirement.

Pittsburgh Maulers

On January 20, 2022, Wilson was named Head coach of the

of the United States Football League (USFL). Wilson cut running back De'Veon Smith for violating team rules three times in a 24-hour period, notably disrespecting a cafeteria worker before the USFL season began, drawing major controversy over social media platforms from fans.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Kirby 1961 births Living people Pittsburgh Steelers coaches USC Trojans football coaches Illinois Fighting Illini football players New England Patriots coaches Washington Redskins coaches Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Toronto Argonauts players Southern Illinois Salukis football coaches Wyoming Cowboys football coaches Iowa State Cyclones football coaches Tampa Bay Buccaneers coaches Arizona Cardinals coaches Pasadena City Lancers football players Pasadena City Lancers football coaches Eastern Illinois University alumni Minnesota Vikings coaches Cleveland Browns coaches Susan Miller Dorsey High School alumni Las Vegas Raiders coaches Oakland Raiders coaches Pittsburgh Maulers (2022) coaches