The Panthers will make this year’s first head coaching hire. They have decided on Frank Reich, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero (on Twitter).
Reich joined interim coach Steve Wilks as Carolina’s finalists. A quarterback on the Panthers’ inaugural 1995 squad, Reich will have a second head coaching opportunity following a midseason Colts dismissal. The Panthers have announced the hire. Following Matt Rhule‘s seven-year contract, Joe Person of The Athletic notes this is a four-year agreement (Twitter link).
Carolina had been zeroing in on offense-oriented coaches for a while, but Wilks’ performance as interim HC interfered with that plan. Wilks, who went 6-6 in his chance as the Panthers’ interim boss, joined Reich in interviewing twice for the position. The latter’s experience as a play-caller won out. Reich also interviewed for the Cardinals’ HC post, and a few teams wanted to speak with him about their offensive coordinator positions. But Reich said shortly after his Indianapolis exit he wanted a second chance as a head coach.
Reich zoomed onto the HC radar in 2018, after he played a central role in helping the Eagles win Super Bowl LII after losing their starting quarterback. Nick Foles‘ virtuoso finish to the 2017 season led to Reich becoming the Colts’ head coach, though he was Indy’s second choice following Josh McDaniels‘ infamous about-face. Reich ended up being a solid choice for the team, coaching two Colts squads to playoff berths.
The 2018 Colts edition did not face high expectations, but Reich led a turnaround that ended in the divisional round. Andrew Luck bounced back with a 39-touchdown pass season under Reich, but another run of injury trouble during the 2019 offseason led the standout passer to announce his retirement just before the season. Reich navigated that setback for a bit, reuniting with ex-Chargers pupil Philip Rivers in 2020, but the Colts are still dealing with the fallout from Luck’s retirement. After the 2020 playoff berth preceded Rivers’ retirement, the wheels gradually fell off for the Colts. Their 9-8 2021 season — ending with an ugly Week 18 loss to the two-touchdown underdog Jaguars — prompted Jim Irsay to insist on sweeping changes, and that process soon led to Reich’s firing.
Reich, 61, had advocated for Carson Wentz in 2021, and the Colts bypassed a draft move to reunite their HC with his ex-Eagles charge. Wentz had moments in 2021 and ranked in the top 10 in QBR, throwing 27 touchdown passes and just seven interceptions. Wentz was inconsistent down the stretch that year, and after a COVID-19 contraction, he struggled mightily in the Colts’ final two games — losses that knocked them out of the playoff race. Irsay demanded Wentz be traded, leading to an Irsay-endorsed Matt Ryan partnership. Ryan’s woes in his age-37 season led to Irsay demanding Reich bench him for former sixth-round pick Sam Ehlinger. This run of owner-mandated moves eventually led to Reich being canned in November — not long after the Panthers axed Rhule. Irsay later said he reluctantly extended Reich in 2021, putting a bow on an eventful 2022 for the Colts owner.
A longtime Bills backup who led the greatest comeback in playoff history — a 32-point rally past the Oilers in the 1992 wild-card round — Reich played the 1995 season with the Panthers. Arriving in Carolina as a free agent in ’95, Reich took the first snap in team history. He moved into coaching in the mid-2000s and began his rise as the Chargers’ OC under Mike McCoy nearly a decade later. Reich will come full circle with the Panthers, who recently hired one of his daughters to work in their marketing department, per Person. Frank’s brother, Joe, has also been the head coach at Charlotte-area Wingate University for 22 years.
Wilks has deeper ties to the Panthers. He is a Charlotte native who coached in Carolina as a Ron Rivera assistant and then an interim HC. Players advocated for Wilks, who did one of the better jobs in interim coaching history last season. With Reich beating him out for the full-time gig, Wilks intends to coach elsewhere in 2023, Pelissero tweets.
The Panthers were also quite impressed with Cowboys OC Kellen Moore, Rapoport tweets, but they will go with experience in Reich. Moore, 33, just finished his fourth season as Dallas’ play-caller and interviewed over a two-day period with Carolina this week. Although David Tepper met with Sean Payton this week, a trade between two NFC South franchises was never likely.
Tepper’ssecond hire will be a first for the Panthers, who have never seen their head coach double as their offensive play-caller. The Panthers have either employed defensive-minded leaders (Dom Capers, George Seifert, John Fox, Rivera) or a CEO-type HC (Rhule). Tepper’s seven-year, $62MM Rhule contract backfired, leading the owner to prioritize NFL experience this time around.
Thanks for not taking any Eagles coordinators.
exactly!!!!!
Hold that thought until after the playoffs
Another example of the Rooney rule being a joke. Wilks earned this job by winning with bum QBs but nope hire the white guy who was fired for not being able to win with bum QBs
Yeah whine the race card again boo hoo
Most people that uses words “race card” are usually insecure racists. Whitney, insecure racists, I meant.
This was not as profound as you thought it was. Wilkes is better suited as a DC
Wasn’t looking to be profound, but nice try. Then, you spit out the stereotypical phrase about being better suited as a DC. Leaving out the fact that AZ didn’t even give him a full season as a HC. Then, went and hired a college coach that had a LOSING record. We see how that turned out. Wilks replacing another bum college coach and does a better job than the HC, but you say he’s better suited as a DC. LOL
He is a better DC that is not a debate. Well the league purged those coaches this year. Please do your job and feed your kids and stop race baiting online. Also he was the worst coach the Cards have ever had
keyser_soze;
What happened to Mr. Wilks and other minority assistant coaches that got a short shot of being a head coach in the NFL but were quickly removed from that role as found wanting – has happened to far more Caucasian assistant coaches. That’s the whole point of interim coaches – a team is losing one season, see if a guy on staff has it to be a head coach rather than hire him for the next season and have that blow-up as well.
Interim coaching positions are job tryouts. The same as making a backup QB the interim QB to fill out a lost season. The FO and owner can determine whether he can start the following season or whether the team needs to find another QB.
Some people need figure out a reason they are not successful and they use race as the excuse
Wait so the racists aren’t the ones who focus on race all the time and bring up racism any time a white guy gets a job and advocate that people should be hired based on their skin color?
Yeah funny how that works out
No, racists are the ones who are too insecure to have a sensible discussion about race w/o throwing out the “race card” words. Or always assuming that minorities only want to get hired based on the skin color. When the resumes clearly shows they should be considered, or they are even better qualified.
You are legit begging for a bum HC to be hired over a coach who is at least mediocre. I also seem to assume I am not a minority which is amusing. Also name the black coaches overlooked please go ahead
Has Wilks won a Super Bowl? Or anything noteworthy? Because Reich has.
And the original poster was the one who brought race into it. So is it about qualifications or race? Reich is more qualified.
And I don’t even think the Wentz thing went that bad till the end
Shoeless Joe, Yeah, the reality is that as an interim HC, you have an extremely low chance of getting the actual job. You pretty much have to force the owner/GM’s hand by somehow getting to the playoffs and making noise there.
It’s not fair, but the owner/GM is usually going to lean heavy towards bringing in their own guy again from outside the org, from the start.
While I agree the Rooney rule is a joke, we don’t know what happened in the interviews. Maybe Wilks didn’t present a sound plan on the offensive side of the ball. We will never know.
He looked better with less than Reich did last year. Not sure what else he’s supposed to do?
Neither deserve the hire, it’s not mutually exclusive.
Probably a financial pick. Colts still owe Reich $9m/y through 2026. Panthers still owe Rhule $9.25m/aav through 2030. Wilks would need a new contract.
Life isn’t as easy as black or white. Green generally wins.
Ruhle’s deal is over since he choose to to coach back in college. That’s what I thought anyways.
NFL union and offset language doesn’t generally apply to college. The coaches can essentially double dip. They can also backload a contract.
Whatever obligation to Rhule, Reich is essentially a free hire for the Panthers.
Wow, Wilks went .500 playing in a division where the best team had a losing record. What an amazing achievement.
Offensive-minded head coaches usually end up being more successful in the NFL. NFL owners want to win. When they stop drafting/signing/hiring people of color altogether, then I’ll believe they’re racist. But they’re not, they just want the best person for the job.
HAHAHAHAHA…best joke of the day!
What does this have to do with the Rooney Rule? He wasn’t given the interim HC job due to the rule. He wasn’t even interviewed for the HC job due to the rule!
The Rooney Rule doesn’t seem to HELP very much, no. But I don’t understand the criticism. What’s your solution?
There’s no solution needed. The world just needs to stop acting like people deserve something just because of their skin color and let decision makers hire (or interview) whoever they want.
When the Mike Tomlin’s of the world get passed over for Joe Bob Whitey from the high school ranks, then let’s talk. But when it’s two qualified coaches, the race card isn’t good enough.
I think there is still plenty of unintentional bias in the NFL when it comes to race that can be lifted, but I don’t care to get into that debate here.
I just hear hundreds of people bash the Rooney Rule without being able to tell me how they’d improve upon it OR what harm it is doing currently.
Well I do think it is doing some harm and Brian Flores illustrated some of that last year. Why would you force teams to interview people of color that they probably have no intention of hiring? How does that make those coaches feel when they find out they never really had a chance. It’s pretty crazy in my opinion. And maybe the actual racist part of the hiring process.
I’d argue that for every 1 example like that there are likely 5-10 where it is a good experience for at least the team or candidate, even if the hire isn’t made.
Has Flores said he would have rather not been interviewed at all? I find that hard to believe. I know for certain he wanted them to take it seriously and give him a chance.
Lastly, the process isn’t racist or creating racism. The only “bad” thing it does is fuel the fire of people shouting “racism!” when 90% of the time the POC isn’t hired. That in and of itself is not a good enough reason to not manufacture opportunities for minorities if the league cares about diversity.
I agree, I don’t think that is the case for the most part. And that’s exactly my point! We don’t need a rule to force owners/GM’s to interview POC. For the most part, I think those coaches get interviews because the team is genuinely interested in them. So making a rule and forcing it just suggests there’s a problem that doesn’t actually exist. But when there’s a rule in place forcing it, then there’s always that question of “Is this for real? Or is it just my skin color?”
I’m a white male so I can’t speak to that last part and would value 1st-hand perspective. I don’t have much access to that, but the league certainly does. Hopefully they used it and considered feedback when putting in place the existing policies, but it certainly wouldn’t surprise me if they just did what they thought best (as a room full of most entirely white males).
That aside, I still think ultimately the Bieniemies and Flores’ of the NFL are hungry to interview, whether they think they are the check to a box or not. Frustrations after-the-fact aside, the only way to get the job is to interview for it. If they really didn’t want to be a checkmark they would simply turn down interviews if they didn’t feel like a true candidate, right?
If we’re being totally honest, most people know that people in power “mostly” hire people that they can relate to, or they feel the most comfortable with. It’s a very open secret. They need a rule to force people to hire the most qualified people. Mike Tomlin went from DB coach to head coach of the Steelers b/c of that rule.
Best coach on the market who’s been an NFL head coach and doesn’t require a trade. Makes sense for a team that was stuck to a “culture builder” who showed no acumen for the big seat at the NFL level. They have one or two nice weapons, a promising tackle tandem, and a lot of defensive talent. If they can land a hood you g QB, this is a decent looking situation, especially in such a wonky division.
4 Golden Tickets Remaining
I think Reich is a good coach and deserving of a HC job. But I really think Wilks earned that job, and it’s disappointing that he didn’t get it.
I don’t disagree, but I think we all know Tepper was always going to do something flashier than that.
My thoughts precisely.
I think the linchpin was hiring an offensive mind rather than a defensive coach.
@atlastwetried:
You summed it up perfectly. But as someone else already mentioned, it might have been a financial decision as well: Unlike Wilks, Reich is entitled to massive payments from Indianapolis.
Gruß,
BSHH
I like this hire a lot and think he got the raw end of the deal in Indy. However, he didn’t work because he couldn’t build a consistent offense because the revolving door at QB with the colts… the issue becomes the revolving door at QB with the panthers. They need to find a QB to stay with.
It’s his fault he chose Carson Wentz, which failed dramatically. He got what he deserved in Indy. Frankly, he got opportunity to win than a lot of coaches got
I think most of Frank’s salary will be invested in psychological therapy after working for owners like Irsay and Tepper.
congrats to Frank. hopefully he can get himself a franchise QB and have a 8-10 yr stretch of solid competition. long as it doesn’t come at the expense ofy eagles I hope him all the best
Smart financial hire by the Panthers. Colts will pay up to $9M/yr of Reich’s salary in the first 4 years. Panthers will still have to put some weight into his contract, otherwise he’ll be a lame duck.
I see something like 5 years $30M, where you backload $14M in year 5, and the Panthers pay $4M/yr 2023-26 and the Colts cover $5M/yr.
Let’s do a color blind test.
Coach A: 40-33-1 career record, 54.7%
Coach B: 9-19 career record, 32.1%
That’s not color blind. It’s blind of all other information. Wilks went 3-13 when he was given one season with the worst offensive line in football and a rookie QB so bad that they traded him the next offseason and he only got three starts the whole rest of his career. Then he went 6-6 taking over a losing team with a sinkhole at QB. Reich would be below .500 if you took out his one Andrew Luck season and his one Phil Rivers season. Judging these guys by just their overall records is silly (and I don’t say any of this to knock Reich or say it was a bad hire).
That’s the definition of blind affirmative action, if you take away 1 person’s worst and the other person’s best to make them look equal.
I’m not saying that’s all there is to it either, but Wilks has only coached in situations that were hopeless beyond his control. Dismissing him based on what he did in one season saddled with Josh Rosen is unreasonable.
Not the person I wanted but he at least meets the two baseline criteria that I wanted satisfied: 1) offense-oriented; 2) not part of Rivera’s coaching tree.
Frank has the REICH STUFF.
Hope Tepper lets Reich do the job he was hired for and keeps meddling to a minimum.
Meanwhile, the Indianapolis Colts are projected to be installing Jim Irsay as their new Head Coach.
And in related news, Brian Flores has filed a lawsuit for not getting hired. He has also included teams from both the NBA and MLS for not hiring him as well.
Stay tuned for updates as they become available.
I’m pretty sure the existence and general disregard of the Rooney Rule is what is behind his lawsuit.