The day Panthers fans have been clamoring for has finally arrived: Matt Rhule was fired this morning after the Panthers’ 37-15 loss against the 49ers. Rhule had an 11-27 record as the Panthers’ head coach, where he was hired after turning both Baylor and Temple into ranked college programs.
Carolina ranks in the bottom-five in five crucial offensive metrics this season: PPG (28th), yards per game (29th), third-down percentage (31st), red zone touchdown percentage (30th) and passer rating (30th). Rhule had a shocking 1-27 record when teams scored 17 points or more, including 25 straight losses. Panthers’ defensive passing game coordinator Steve Wilks will serve as the interim head coach until owner David Tepper finds a replacement.
Carolina has zero playoff appearances under Rhule, winning five games in each of his two full seasons. Rhule fired offensive coordinator Joe Brady last year, who was the passing game coordinator for LSU’s 2019 national championship. After, Ben McAdoo’s offensive failures this season, many are wondering whether Rhule was quick to throw Brady under the bus to obscure his own incompetence. Brady is now the quarterbacks coach for the Super Bowl-favorite Buffalo Bills.
Baker Mayfield has looked uncomfortable and confused to start the season, even with an experienced offensive coordinator. McAdoo was the head coach of the New York Giants during the end of the Eli Manning era, leading them to a playoff berth in 2016. However, Mayfield has struggled to find passing lanes, which has resulted in battled balls at the line and long third down scenarios. He is clearly not making quick enough reads, which has led to being sacked 3.4 times a game, good for 27th in the league.
This slow start has only been aided by the misuse of primary weapon Christian McCaffrey. Carolina ranked last in the league in 1st down runs (36) coming into last week despite averaging 6.4 YPC on those runs.
Wilks, who is primarily a defensive-minded coach, served as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2018, finishing 3-13. He also served on the Panthers’ staff from 2012-2017. Wilks will likely hand the offensive responsibilities to McAdoo.
It will be interesting to see how much the offense shifts from a play calling perspective. Will the Panthers finally commit to running the ball on early downs? Will McAdoo introduce some much-needed creativity and pre-snap movement to this offense? These are both questions that will be answered over the coming weeks. But for now, Carolina fans can take a deep breath and celebrate a victory for once: Matt Rhule is finally gone.
“I’m all about change,” Wilks said following the head coach appointment. “I’ll just leave it at that.”
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