The Carolina Panthers’ rebuild is heading in a new direction.
The Panthers fired coach Frank Reich on Monday, following Carolina’s 1-10 start – the worst in the NFL – with six games remaining in the 2023 season.
“I met with Coach Reich [Monday] morning and informed him that he will not continue as head coach of the Carolina Panthers,” team owner David Tepper said in a statement announcing the firing. “I want to thank Frank for his dedication and service, and we wish him well.”
The Panthers announced special teams coach Chris Tabor will serve as interim head coach. Senior assistant Jim Caldwell will be a special advisor to offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, who will take over play-calling duties. Brown briefly handled the responsibility earlier this season, but Reich later took back the role.
Carolina also fired assistant head coach and running backs coach Duce Staley and quarterbacks coach Josh McCown.
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The Panthers’ rebuild centered on Reich and quarterback Bryce Young has not taken off how Tepper envisioned.
Tepper was heard by multiple reporters yelling an expletive as he left the Panthers’ locker room after the team’s 17-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
Bryce Young trade leaves Panthers in precarious position
To make matters worse for Carolina, the Panthers do not own their first-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
The pick, currently slated to be No. 1, is owned by the Chicago Bears after last year’s trade that sent the 2023 No. 1 pick to the Panthers.
Amid rampant offensive issues, Carolina has failed to score more than 13 points in its last five games and in seven games overall.
Young has completed 61.7% of his passes for 1,877 yards with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions this season. He has also been sacked 40 times, which is second-most in the NFL behind Washington’s Sam Howell (55).
The Panthers have the fourth-worst scoring average in the NFL, mustering just 15.7 points per game.
C.J. Stroud’s success increases heat on Bryce Young, Panthers
While Young and the Panthers have had a rocky first season together, No. 2 pick C.J. Stroud’s rookie campaign has been far smoother.
The Ohio State product and Houston Texans quarterback has become the runaway favorite for Offensive Rookie of the Year, throwing for 3,266 yards with 19 touchdowns and just five interceptions while leading the team to a 6-5 mark.
Before the Panthers scored their lone win of the season to date against the Texans, Reich backed the team’s selection of Young when asked about his level of interest in Stroud.
“I’ve never said that to one person anytime, anywhere,” Reich said last month. “Always said—I like C.J. Stroud a lot. I’ve said this many times—I like that whole quarterback draft. I think they were all really good prospects. I think they’re all gonna have really good NFL careers.
“My eyes and our eyes were on Bryce Young, from start to finish. You look at the film, you talk to the man, you get a sense for the leader, the player and what he is and what he can be and how he fits to what we wanna do in the vision we have as an offense, as a team and as an organization. We got the guy for us.
“And I’m sure Houston feels they got the guy for them. That’s great. I mean, I think it’s great for the NFL, it’s great for our two guys. I think we’re both very happy with where we’re at and the direction we’re goin’.”
Frank Reich gets fired for second straight season
Reich was hired by the Panthers earlier this year, just months after being fired from his old gig as the Indianapolis Colts coach.
Reich dealt with Andrew Luck’s abrupt retirement in August 2019, and a revolving door at quarterback with Jacoby Brissett, Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan and Sam Ehlinger in the seasons after. He was fired after a 3-5-1 start on Nov. 7, 2022.
Reich’s 11-game tenure as Panthers coach is the shortest stint for any coach for anyone who made it to regular-season games since 1978, when the San Francisco 49ers fired Pete McCulley after nine games.
How far have the Panthers come at the QB position?
Reich was hired to replace Matt Rhule, who could not stabilize the Panthers’ quarterback play when he was hired in 2020. He is now the coach at Nebraska.
The Panthers released former No. 1 pick Cam Newton and started Teddy Bridgewater and P.J. Walker in 2020. They signed former No. 3 pick Sam Darnold, re-signed Newton, and kept Walker in 2021. And former No. 1 pick Baker Mayfield joined Darnold and Walker in 2022.
The Panthers, who last drafted Newton with the No. 1 pick in 2011, last reached the Super Bowl in 2015.
David Tepper has had little patience with coaches
Tepper, who also owns Charlotte FC in Major League Soccer, has fired four coaches between both teams he owns in the last 18 months.
Along with firing Reich and Rhule, Tepper has fired MLS coaches Miguel Ángel Ramírez in May 2022 and Christian Lattanzio earlier this month.
Charlotte FC began play in 2022, and Lattanzio led the team to the MLS playoffs this season before his departure. But Charlotte FC fell 5-2 in the wild card round to the New York Red Bulls on Oct. 25.