In Carolina, Reich will take on a new coaching position.
The next head coach of the Carolina Panthers has been selected. The team announced on Thursday that Frank Reich had been named the sixth head coach in the organisation’s history.
Just over two months after being sacked by the Colts as their head coach due to a 3-5-1 start to the season, Reich has already been hired. But before being fired by Indianapolis, Reich was quite successful with the Colts, taking them to the playoffs twice in his four-and-a-half seasons.
According to CBS Sports, NFL source Jonathan Jones, the former Colts coach and interim Panthers coach Steve Wilks were two of the finalists. After the Panthers sacked Matt Rhule in October as a result of a 1-4 start to the season, Wilks took over. Wilks guided the Panthers to a 6-6 record in his first 12 games with them and brought them back into the NFC South title race.
Regarding Reich, he conducted his first interview for the position of head coach at Carolina in mid-January. Then he conducted a follow-up interview on Wednesday (Jan. 25). In the second interview, he undoubtedly dazzled owner David Tepper since he received a job offer less than a day later.
With the Panthers, Reich will face the same challenge that plagued him during his time with the Colts: the inability to identify a franchise quarterback.
Fans’ reactions to the Panthers’ appointment of Frank Reich as coach
Not that many Panther supporters disliked the new appointment of Frank Reich; rather, they had grown to like the prior interim head coach Steve Wilkes.
Harrison Moore, a devoted follower his entire childhood, remarked, “I thought Wilks truly had the squad.” “I believed he really turned the squad around for the last five to six games there,” the fan said.
In five regular-season games he oversaw while in Indianapolis, Reich started five different quarterbacks in Week 1. ( Jacoby Brissett, Andrew Luck, Philip Rivers, Matt Ryan, Carson Wentz).
He’s going to want to assess the quarterback position in Carolina first. Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield, and P.J. Walker were the three starters the Panthers used in 2022, but Mayfield is already gone. It won’t be unexpected if Darnold and Walker go soon because both have expiration contracts (Walker did spend some time on the Colts’ practice squad in 2018 while Reich was the coach, so the new coach might hold on to him as he is familiar with the quarterback).
Matt Corral, who the Panthers chose in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, is another option at quarterback, but Reich will probably want to sign a seasoned pro. With guys like Brian Burns, Derrick Brown, Jaycee Horn, and Jeremy Chinn as part of their defensive core, the Panthers have a good foundation. If their quarterback situation can be resolved, they may easily emerge as a contender in the NFC South.
Reich will undoubtedly bring a track record of success with him; that much is certain. He not only had a winning record of 40-33-1 when playing with the Colts, but he also served as the offensive coordinator for the Eagles’ 2017 Super Bowl-winning squad. Tepper, 61, is the first head coach in franchise history to have an offensively oriented background, which the Panthers could use right now since they have already gone five straight seasons without a winning record. Tepper appears to be aware of this.
Additionally, Reich has a significant connection to Carolina. The former NFL quarterback participated in the 1995 expansion season with the Panthers. In addition to making three starts for the Panthers, he also took the team’s inaugural offensive snap 28 years ago while manning the centre position.
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