Carolina Panthers fire head coach Frank Reich،
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper fired coach Frank Reich Monday, less than 24 hours after the owner left the locker room muttering an expletive following Sunday’s 17-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans in Nashville.
Reich’s tenure in Carolina ended with an NFL-worst 1-10 record, including an 0-6 mark on the road. He also becomes the first NFL head coach since the 1970 merger to be fired in consecutive seasons following last year’s firing by the Indianapolis Colts.
“I met with Coach Reich this morning and informed him that he will not remain as head coach of the Carolina Panthers,” Tepper said in a statement. “I would like to thank Frank for his dedication and service, and we wish him well.”
Special teams coach Chris Tabor has been named interim head coach, while offensive coordinator Thomas Brown will assume playing duties with help from senior assistant Jim Caldwell.
Tepper has scheduled a news conference for 10:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday. There will be no team availability on Monday.
According to research from ESPN Stats & Information, since the merger, only six NFL head coaches have not completed their first season with their team, with three of those cases occurring in the last three seasons: Urban Meyer (Jaguars ), Nathaniel Hackett (Broncos) and Reich.
Reich was fired after the offense produced 15 points or fewer for the fifth straight week and seventh time in 11 games.
The offense has produced just 10 points in each of the last two games after Reich took over play-calling duties from Brown just three games after handing them over to him.
“What are you going to do?,” Reich, who has a career record of 41-43-1, said after Sunday’s loss to the Titans. “You’re 1-10. Are you going to feel sorry for yourself? Is there something that’s going to magically make everything right? No.”
After Sunday’s game, Tepper left the locker room shaking his head in disgust and was heard by several reporters yelling “F—!”
The Panthers are assured of a sixth straight losing season since Tepper purchased the team in 2018 for $2.275 billion. Since then, the Panthers are 30-63 (.323), second worst behind the New York Jets.
Sunday’s performance left the Panthers 30th in the NFL in total offense and 30th in passing yards per game.
That doesn’t bode well for Reich, who was hired in January for his offensive prowess.
Reich was also hired to bring rookie quarterback Bryce Young, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft after Carolina traded two first-round picks and wide receiver DJ Moore to the Chicago Bears to move from ninth to first .
Young ranks 29th in the NFL in Total QBR with a mark of 32.0. He also ranks last in the league in passer rating with 74.9 and has been sacked 40 times, tied for fifth-most for a player in his first 10 games since sacks were recorded for the first time in 1963.
Carolina fans were so disgusted that in two home games – Minnesota and Dallas – they sold enough tickets to fans of the visiting team that Bank of America Stadium looked like a home game to them.
All of this didn’t sit well with Tepper and left Reich to be fired mid-season for the second year in a row after being let go in 2022 by the Colts following a 3-5-1 start.
This is the second year in a row that Tepper has fired his head coach during the season. Matt Rhule was fired last year after a 1-4 start.
Tepper and his search committee targeted Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson early in their search. When Johnson informed teams he was staying in Detroit, the search turned to Reich because of his history on offense, his ability to help a rookie quarterback grow, and his promise to build a veteran team.
He signed a four-year contract in January.
Reich appeared in four Super Bowls as a player for the Buffalo Bills, where he was primarily a backup. As a coach, he won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles following the 2017 season in which he was offensive coordinator.
In 2017, Reich helped Carson Wentz go 11-2 with MVP-caliber numbers before a season-ending injury, and Nick Foles became the Super Bowl MVP in a 41-33 win over the New England Patriots.
He also worked with future Hall of Fame quarterback Philip Rivers with the San Diego Chargers and Colts.
