Panthers Fire Head Coach Frank Reich

Early Monday morning, the Carolina Panthers decided it was time to cut ties with Head Coach Frank Reich just three-quarters of the way through his first season with the team. With a 1-10 record 13 weeks into the season, tremors began to surface around the league that this could be possible. With rumors of a disconnect stemming as far back as draft time between coaching and the front office, it would be reasonable to attribute that to this decision. Rumblings in March concluded that Reich and his coaching staff were set on Texans QB Cj Stroud to be the selection, yet ownership was firmly set on Bryce Young. Young would end up being the selection with the first overall pick, and we will never know what the truth of the matter was. Owner David Tepper did speak today on the matter and tried to put things to bed. Tepper stated that he believed it was a "unanimous decision from coaches and scouts" and was "totally confident in agreeing with the pick." Thus, he seemingly put the conversation to an end but also brought his sincerity into question. 

Regardless of whether Bryce Young was the house favorite to be selected, he is the Panthers' starter for the foreseeable future, and this move ultimately hurts him the most. For newly established QBs coming into the league, the talent in the first rounds is almost always unquestionable. These kids get selected highly for a reason, and of course, some of them fizzle out due to self-inflicted consequences. What needs to be mentioned more is the amount of talent wasted due to instability and lack of proper support and guidance entering the league. Bryce Young is a tremendously talented QB, even with his slim physical frame. However, if I were David Tepper, I would want to support my new Quarterback and give him stability to fall back on. Firing his Head Coach just eleven games into his tenure is doing the complete opposite of that. This team isn't built to thrive as it is constructed; the need for more talent on the offensive side of the ball, in particular, is glaring. When you bring in a 33-year-old Adam Thielen to be your number one wide receiver, what can you possibly expect? Thielen is a pro's pro and has been excellent this season, considering the circumstances, but he is not the game-changer he once was.  

Ultimately, this season is a wash for Carolina as they hold the worst record in the NFL and, to make matters worse, they don't even have their first-round pick thanks to the trade to select Young. Moving forward, David Tepper and Co. will hopefully entrust the keys to their franchise to someone they will trust for more than one season. If a quality replacement is found, things can look up for the franchise, especially with your Quarterback spot in place. For Frank Reich, I do feel he was unfairly made the scapegoat for the Panthers’ lack of success. His removal is a polarizing move that will be discussed at length as we see what becomes of this Panthers franchise.