Wilson joined St James' Park in October after completing his notice period at Nottingham Forest, where he had held a similar role, and says identifying potential successors was one of his earliest priorities.
Howe had been in charge for four years at that point, but Wilson felt the manager's excellent recent form, including ending Newcastle United's 70-year wait for a domestic trophy and reaching the Champions League twice, made him a target for other jobs, potentially including the England national team.
"We had a very talented coach here in Eddie Howe, but part of your job as a sporting director is to look at a very talented coach and say 'this guy might move on at some point,' so we've got to be ready for that," Wilson said.
"So we began this process really early in my tenure here to have a clear succession plan of what we might do."
That planning meant Newcastle already had a strong sense of what they wanted when Howe's surprise departure was confirmed in the summer, following a difficult campaign that saw the club finish 12th and sell three of its best players in Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimarães.
Matthias Jaissle quickly emerged as the profile Wilson had been searching for.
"We had a clear profile of what we wanted, so when you see Matthias working with us now you can probably articulate that profile yourself," Wilson said. "He meets that word 'brave'; he's bought into everything that this club's all about in a big way already; I think the fans have really taken to him with the way he is as a person.
"We wanted to work with a really good person, but I've mentioned the word 'identity' and 'plan' a lot, and we also wanted someone with a clear identity and plan, and hopefully he brings that to us moving forward. His first weeks here have certainly been impressive."
Jaissle has overseen an unbeaten start to the season despite a difficult pre-season, with Newcastle winning one and drawing two of their opening three Premier League fixtures, as well as seeing off West Brom in the Carabao Cup.
Howe, meanwhile, has again been linked with the vacant England job this weekend, with the Football Association continuing to review Thomas Tuchel's performance at the World Cup. Tuchel has two years left on his contract and is expected to lead the Three Lions into Euro 2028 on home soil, though Howe remains the bookmakers' favourite to succeed him should the German leave his post.