Last year, the Panthers fired Matt Rhule after starting 1-4. Interim HC Steve Wilks he then led the team to a 6-6 mark, which left the team in the NFC South race until Week 17. Despite many of the same key players in place, Carolina’s 2023 edition has the worst record in the NFL.
Swapping significant assets for security purposes Bryce Young finishing first overall, the Panthers were never seen as a team that could really contend this season. However, their disappointing first half left many around the league wondering about David Tepper will resign from the power structure he signed agreement to in January. One member of the Carolina power duo may be in a better position than the other, but both are Frank Reich and GM Scott Fitterer they don’t seem confident they’ll keep their jobs after this season.
Many people in the NFL are watching this situation, including: Note from Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post. there is a strong feeling that the Reich will become the final solution. La Canfora adds that even within the Panthers building there is a belief that jobs will be at risk in the second half of the season. It would be a stunning transition to ownership – especially after Rhule went from being given a seven-year contract to being fired after Week 5 of the third season – but Tepper did not develop a reputation for stability during his first years with the NFC Team South. Indeed, Tepper’s reputation is fueling speculation that Reich will retire after just one season, – adds Tony Pauline from Sportskeeda.
Tepper is believed to be irritated by Young’s performance so far, an NFL executive told La Canfora, adding the sixth-year owner took a bus to Alabama. Rumors have been swirling as to when the Panthers won the No. 1 overall pick I prefer Reich C.J. Stroud came to the surface. These steadily faded as Young captured the organization despite his diminutive frame. The Panthers saw Stroud challenge the Texans, and despite Carolina’s only victory over Houston, the team took a significant step back from 2022.
Among the qualified candidates, Young is just ahead of them Ryan Tannehill in QBR this season. The former Heisman winner ranks last in yards per attempt – just 5.4 – and has thrown eight touchdown passes compared to seven interceptions. Young’s struggles were probably expected given Carolina’s skill deficiencies. The team gave Miles Sanders RB’s highest contract in free agency; Czuba Hubbard he has since leapfrogged the former Eagle in the starting role. Adam Thielen in the season in which he was 33 years old, he went from a victim for the Vikings to the number 1 target for the Panthers. Thielen was productive in Carolina; no one else in this group has the skills. No DJ Chark or Hayden Hurst – the latter received the highest offer during the offseason – he exceeded 230 yards this year.
After indication With Thomas Brown considering making the team into the offseason, Reich handed over the duties during the team’s bye week. Three games in, Reich he took the reins from the young OC. In Brown’s short streak, the Panthers failed to score 15 points in a game, and while the veteran HC said the change wasn’t indicative of Brown’s long-term future, the quick turnaround was certainly noticeable.
Reich beat out Wilks for the Panthers’ top job, and Tepper preferred the attack-minded HC. The five-year Colts leader is the Panthers’ first attack-minded linebacker. Respected, Reich’s firing from two HC positions in two years would undoubtedly result in him returning to the coordinator position. Reich, 61, pulled back the curtain a bit Tepper-style earlier this season by pointing out the owner heavily involved in football activities through weekly meetings of both parties. After Reich’s experience with Jim Irsay in Indianapolis, this is familiar territory.
But Reich may not be the most popular Panthers power broker to leave either. According to Pauline, you shouldn’t expect the installer to weather this storm. Fitterer arrived in Rhule in 2021 after a successful tenure as Seahawks executive and remained in charge ahead of the 2022 trade deadline. The veteran employee pulled the trigger Christian McCaffrey trade, giving the Panthers four draft picks, but did not accept the Rams’ offer of two first-rounders Brian Burns. It is believed that the young defensive part did not arouse similar interest this year, which came after the Panthers were unable to extend him in the offseason. It is a franchise mark now expected from Burnsbut it’s unclear whether Tepper will delegate that decision to Fitterer.
Some members of the Panthers organization don’t believe this is a well-rounded lineup, and the team’s 1-8 record proves it. Despite being in a selling position, the Panthers chased wide receivers — months after trading away their long-term No. 1 target DJ Moore – within. Monter, who took the rear seat in Rhule, has the final say Karolina’s 53-man squad. The Panthers lost to a missing Bears team Justin Fields; The possibility of Carolina passing the No. 1 pick for 2024 to Chicago would be difficult for Fitterer, who received the nomination a vote of confidence from Tepper after Rhule shooting.
Tepper firing Reich after one season won’t make this a particularly attractive job, but the owner’s history of approving big contracts for HCs and paying big bucks for assistants will help. This will be a situation to monitor in the second half of the season.
