Following Sunday’s blowout loss to the San Francisco 49ers, the Carolina Panthers have fired head coach Matt Rhule. Rhule originally joined the team prior to the 2020 NFL season and was entered the season on the hot seat. Steve Wilks will be the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
Former #Panthers coach Matt Rhule had several opportunities last offseason for big-time college jobs, but he turned them down to stay in Carolina. Now, he'll have his choice of coveted college jobs. https://t.co/OenYiWgcC5
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 10, 2022
Carolina Panthers Fire Matt Rhule, Steve Wilks To Be Interim Head Coach
The news of Rhule’s firing comes after yet another underwhelming performance by the Carolina Panthers. The team lost 27-15, dropping their record to 1-3 on the year while looking like one of the worst teams in the league. Baker Mayfield left the game in a walking boot and the offense simply has not improved at any point over the past three years.
The writing was on the wall for Rhule for quite some time now. Originally hired back in 2020, Rhule’s first major move involved moving on from longtime quarterback Cam Newton and replacing him with Teddy Bridgewater. However, after one year, Rhule and company decided to part ways with Bridgewater and bring in Sam Darnold. That experiment failed, as they benched Darnold for former Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Throughout his tenure as head coach, Rhule never led the Panthers to a winning season as his offense stagnated year after year. With Rhule out of the picture, Steve Wilks will take over as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Wilks has some experience operating a team, as he was head coach for the Arizona Cardinals during the 2018 season. However, that campaign did not go well, as Wilks lasted just one year while guiding the Cardinals to the worst record in football. Following that campaign, the Cardinals replaced Wilks with Kliff Kingsbury and rookie quarterback Josh Rosen with Kyler Murray.
