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          Cardinals finalize Steve Wilks' first staff, which includes holdovers from last regime

          • Josh Weinfuss, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 14, 2018, 10:45 PM
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              Josh Weinfuss is a staff writer who covers the Arizona Cardinals and the NFL at ESPN. Josh has covered the Cardinals since 2012, joining ESPN in 2013. He is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and a graduate of Indiana University. You can follow him via Twitter @joshweinfuss.
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          TEMPE, Ariz. -- New Arizona Cardinals coach Steve Wilks put his fingerprint firmly on the franchise Wednesday.

          The team announced 11 new assistant coaches to complement Wilks, the three coordinators he already hired and the five assistants he kept from last year’s staff. Wilks also retained strength and conditioning coach Buddy Morris.

          The Cardinals’ new staff includes assistant defensive-line coach Chris Achuff, offensive-line coach Ray Brown, defensive quality-control coach Alonso Escalante, assistant defensive-backs coach Charlie Harbison, senior assistant/defensive-line coach Don Johnson, assistant special-teams coach Randall McCray, defensive-backs coach David Merritt Sr., tight-ends coach Jason Michael, offensive quality-control coach Troy Rothenbuhler, offensive assistant Cameron Turner and running-backs coach Kirby Wilson.

          Wilks kept Larry Foote as linebackers coach, Kevin Garver as wide-receivers coach, Byron Leftwich as quarterbacks coach, Steve Heiden as assistant offensive-line coach and the Bill Bidwill Fellowship/running-backs coach Terry Allen.

          Wilks had already hired Mike McCoy as his offensive coordinator, Al Holcomb as his defensive coordinator and Jeff Rodgers as his special-teams coordinator.

          The most noticeable difference in Wilks' staff from Bruce Arians', which remained largely intact for the last five seasons, will be the age difference. The average age of Wilks’ staff on Wednesday was 44.5. The average age of Arians’ staff on Jan. 1, when Arians’ retired, was 53.4. The oldest coach on Wilks’ staff will be 63-year-old defensive-line coach Don Johnson, who last coached in 2015 with the San Diego Chargers. Arians’ staff had one coach in his 80s, two in their 70s and five in their 60s. Wilks’ has three in their 50s, 10 in their 40s and six in their 30s.

          The youngest members of Wilks’ staff are a trio of 30-year-olds: Garver, Turner and Escalante.

          Wilks’ staff also contains 20 members without counting the strength and conditioning coaches. Arians’ had 21 without them.

          The Cardinals can begin offseason workouts on April 2.