It's a secondary education
Detail-oriented Wilks has Bears prepared for Colts' air game
How many times and how many different ways can the question be posed: How will you go about stopping the Pro Bowl combination of Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne?
''They are a new-school Jerry Rice and Joe Montana,'' Charles Tillman said. ''Plus another receiver.''
Tillman, the left cornerback, figures to draw Harrison most of the game. Nathan Vasher will defend Wayne. A lot of teams move their receivers all over the field, but the Colts usually keep them in the same spot. It's part of a system in which they don't do much pre-snap movement and quarterback Peyton Manning waits to react to the defense.
How the Bears will handle the Colts' high-powered passing attack is one of the matchups to watch on Sunday in Super Bowl XLI, and it's being overseen by Steve Wilks, the Bears' third secondary coach in as many seasons. It has been a defensive backfield in motion since head coach Lovie Smith arrived. He kept holdover Vance Bedford for one season before Bedford left to be the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State. Perry Fewell followed, and he left at this time last year to be the Buffalo Bills' coordinator.
Enter Wilks, the Bears' second choice after Ron English took the job, then backed out to remain at Michigan. The joke is that Smith will have to begin looking for a replacement next week. This is Wilks' eighth stop in eight years.
''Right around Christmas time, my [6-year-old daughter, Marissa] came up and asked if we were going to be here next year for Christmas,'' said Wilks, who was at the University of Washington in 2005 after a year at Notre Dame. ''I thought that was amusing. I said, 'Yes, baby, we're going to be here.'''
Wilks' resume reads a lot like Smith's, actually. Before making it to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1996, Smith had been at four colleges in five years.
''I think he's found a home,'' defensive coordinator Ron Rivera said of Wilks. ''Steve is a climber because he is a very sharp individual, and he's very detail-oriented. He will move up this ladder very quickly.''
In only a season, he has made a mark. Tillman played at a Pro Bowl level this season, finding some patience to balance his aggressive, sometimes gambling nature. It has worked. He hasn't been beaten for the big plays, and he tied a career high with five interceptions while remaining stout in run support.
Tillman credits all three coaches with his development: Bedford showed him how to be a pro, Fewell taught him to embrace film study, and Wilks has helped steady his emotions on the field.
One of the first things Wilks taught his players will be visible on the first defensive snap of the Super Bowl. Tillman and Vasher will crouch and run their hands through the Dolphin Stadium turf. A college technique? Sure. High school? All the way. But it proves a point, one that Wilks wanted to make right away: They were going to go all the way back to the basics.
''The thing that is a little bit different from the other guys we had is [Wilks] came from the college ranks,'' Rivera said. ''He's kind of started from the ground up with these guys. He brought us back to basic fundamentals. Vance was more advanced in coaching, Perry more advanced. These guys had been in the NFL for a while.
''What Steve has done has brought them back to the little details, and that's worked for us.''
Wilks has help in defensive quality-control assistant Gill Byrd, who retired in 1993 as the San Diego Chargers' career leader in interceptions. The next season, the Chargers went to the Super Bowl, and Byrd has impressed upon the Bears just how special this opportunity is. Wilks lets Byrd teach, too, and his pro experience has been a plus.
Under Wilks this season, the Bears have played considerably more man-to-man coverage. Tillman followed New Orleans' Marques Colston for much of the NFC Championship Game.
Whether they can lock up Harrison and Wayne playing man-to-man remains to be seen. That could be a risky proposition against Manning. He gets so much credit for knowing what defenses are going to do and rarely taking a sack, but his ball placement also sets him apart from the pack. Give him the smallest opening, and he delivers.
Wilks, however, doesn't believe he and his unit are on the spot.
''No, no,'' he said. ''There isn't any pressure. This is a great opportunity, and we're very fortunate to be here.''
He admitted that being a new guy coming from college, he had to impress the players at the start, especially veterans such as Tillman and injured strong safety Mike Brown.
''These guys at this level, they want to make sure, No. 1, here is a coach that understands the game,'' Wilks said. ''Here is a coach that is going to help my development as a player.
''At this level, we see the same stuff every week. You don't have to prepare for the option and some of those other things you see in college, and with our defense, people attack us certain ways. It's not always about the offense. It's about us.''
So when Manning gets to the line and surveys the Bears defense for the first time, look to see what the cornerbacks do.
''Grabbing grass,'' Vasher said. ''That's been huge for us. He's made the little details work for us. Watch for it.''