Frank Reich’s tenure as head coach of the Carolina Panthers was cut short before it even began. Following the Panthers’ 1-10 record and persistent offensive problems with rookie quarterback Bryce Young, the first overall pick in the 2023 draft, Frank Reich was fired on Monday. The team’s temporary coach will be Chris Tabor, coordinator of special teams.
Reich’s firing is the fastest to occur for a new coach since Pete McCulley’s departure from the 49ers in 1978 following a 1–8 start.
The team brought on Reich, 61, in January. The team hired Frank Reich instead of Steve Wilks, the then-interim coach who finished 2022 with a 6-6 record.
David Tepper, the owner of the Panthers, made the firing public in a statement.
According to David Tepper, he met with Coach Frank Reich that morning and told him he would not be staying on as the Carolina Panthers head coach. With immediate effect, Special Teams Coordinator Chris Tabor will take over as their interim head coach. He also expressed gratitude to Frank for his commitment and service and best wishes for the future.
Tepper continued by saying that Senior Assistant Jim Caldwell has been appointed as Special Advisor to Offensive Coordinator Thomas Brown, who will assume responsibility for play calling.
Frank Reich’s first season in Carolina has not been easy, as the Panthers have not shown much improvement. After multiple in-game mishandling incidents during Sunday’s 17-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans, tensions reached a breaking point.
After just 11 games, Tepper decided to part ways with Reich due to enough problems.
After being fired by the Indianapolis Colts in the previous season, Frank Reich becomes the first NFL head coach to be fired in back-to-back seasons since the 1970 merger.
Tepper plans to hold a press conference on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. On Monday, there won’t be any team availability.
Tepper apparently yelled an expletive out of the Panthers locker room following Sunday’s loss to the Titans, as if his annoyance wasn’t obvious enough.
Additionally, Reich led the Chicago Bears for one game in 2020 following Matt Nagy’s COVID-19 test result. Nagy was the head coach of the Bears at the time. With the Bears’ 33-22 defeat, Tabor’s record as head coach was 0-1 after the game.
Due to inadequate blocking, a nonexistent run game, and a receiver group devoid of playmakers, Reich’s offense has been a complete mess. The troubles of Bryce Young, the first overall pick, were the worst of all.
The quarterback hasn’t consistently shown that he can create plays, and he has shown bad habits during the loss. The inconsistent offense was not helped by the coach giving Brown the play-calling duties and then taking them back.
Panthers Stats Under Frank Reich
The Panthers have not scored above fifteen points in a game since the bye week, and through 11 weeks, they are among the lowest in the league in terms of total offense and scoring. Both their total offense and passing yards per game ranked them 30th in the league.
They had no intention of developing the kind of stuff that would aid in the development of former Heisman Trophy winner and first-overall pick Bryce Young when they brought in Reich this offseason.
After scoring 24, 21, 15, 13, 13, 10, and 10 points in their previous seven games, Carolina had managed to score the same amount of points or less for six straight weeks.
In terms of total offense (265.9; 30th) and scoring (15.7; 29th), the Panthers rank in the bottom four for 2023. Under Reich, the team had three rushing touchdowns (T-fewest) and averaged 92.6 rushing yards per game (29th).
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