The Carolina Panthers made something of a surprise move on Monday morning when they fired first-year head coach Frank Reich. The team is struggling mightily and has no control over their projected top-2 pick, and the instability around the organization continues. Special teams coach Chris Tabor will take over the duties on an interim basis, and will look to finish the final six games of the NFL season with some positivity going forward.
NFL: Reich Lasts Just 11 Games To Urban Meyers’ 13
Panthers owner David Tepper announced he fired head coach Frank Reich. pic.twitter.com/LzLim1MNpL
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 27, 2023
The reason that Reich’s firing comes as a bit of a surprise is unusually short tenure. His time with the team lasted a grand total of 11 games, of which the Panthers have won just a single contest. It is the shortest tenure of any NFL head coach since 1978, when the 49ers fired Pete McCulley after nine games. In fact, even much-maligned former coach Urban Meyer lasted even longer in Jacksonville (13 games) and he was reportedly kicking his players and making a mess of the locker room and organization.
It felt like something had to be done. Carolina’s offense ranks in the bottom 3 in pretty much every major category, and haven’t scored more than 15 points in a game since October 15th. In 3 out of 4 games between weeks 8 and 11, the Panthers managed fewer than 225 yards of total offense.
Should Reich have been given a longer leash? The team is working with a rookie quarterback, one in which they traded away some seriously valuable assets and talent that they are likely already having regret about. They are devoid of elite talent at pretty much every position on their field, and their immediate future was mortgaged when they made the trade for the #1 overall pick and Bryce Young.
Panthers Are In A Rough Spot
Shortest HC tenures in last 45 years:
• Pete McCulley – 9 games in 1978
• Frank Reich – 11 games
• Urban Meyer – 13 games in 2021 pic.twitter.com/xZo6K2E5pk— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) November 27, 2023
To make matters infinitely worse for the Panthers, they are widely projected to finish with one of the two worst records in the league, and don’t even own the rights to their own pick in a loaded quarterback draft. They gave away their 2024 first rounder in order to bring during Young in last year’s selection process, which the Chicago Bears now own.
Will Reich ever be a head coach in the NFL again? His time with the Panthers was his second tenure as a head man in the league. He spent four and a half seasons with the Indianapolis Colts before being let go in 2022, and had a 41-33 overall record during that time. Reich’s Colts qualified for the playoffs twice.
The next three games for the Panthers will be against division opponents. They’ll start with a contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 13.
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