The NFL has already witnessed the firing of many coaches this season. The latest one to join the list is Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich. Born in December 1961, Reich has been coaching in the NFL since 2006. However, this was his second opportunity to serve as a team’s head coach, and he has already gotten fired.
NFL’s reporter Tom Pelissero took to X to break the news about Reich’s firing to everyone. The 61-year-old coach became the head coach of the team in January 2023. It happened after the Indianapolis Colts fired him from the head coach position. Frank Reich took over the role after interim coach Steve Wilks, who had a 6-6 record during his coaching.
𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚: #Panthers have fired Head Coach Frank Reich, per @TomPelisserohttps://t.co/OMghLH6rvP pic.twitter.com/KxIHwtky0A
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 27, 2023
As per reports, Reich signed a 4-year contract with the Panthers. The organization didn’t reveal the exact details of the contract. However, considering his previous $36 million deal with the Colts, it must have been a massive one. Reports suggested that the former NFL star was earning around $5-10 million every year.
This further means that the $10 million-rich NFL head coach earned around $5 million with the team. Now that the team has fired him, Frank Reich must be looking forward to joining a new team.
Panthers owner David Tepper breaks silence after firing Frank Reich
After the news of Frank Reich’s firing, the Panthers’ owner, David Tepper, finally broke his silence. He posted an official statement mentioning that the New York-born coach won’t be with the team anymore. In that statement, Tepper mentioned how he informed the former Bills’ QB about his decision in the morning itself.
“I met with Coach Reich this morning and informed him that he will not continue as head coach of the Carolina Panthers. I want to thank Frank for his dedication and service, and we wish him well,” he said.
Tepper further mentioned that the team’s Special Teams Coordinator, Chris Tabor, would be their interim coach. It’s worth noting that Tabor has been in the NFL since 2008. He grabbed eyeballs when he became the head coach of the Chicago Bears for one day in 2020. Tepper also mentioned that the team’s Senior Assistant Jim Caldwell, will act as offensive coordinator Thomas Brown’s special adviser.
It seems like the Panthers are already prepared to move ahead without Frank Reich. Now, it’ll be interesting to see how the team performs under the interim coach.
Carolina Panthers’ miserable record in the 2023-24 season
Many teams have been having bad times in the NFL this season, and the Carolina Panthers are one of them. In fact, the team probably has the worst record among all teams in 2023. In these 11 games, the Panthers have won only one and lost the remaining 10. Considering this, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the team decided to fire Frank Reich.
With the 6-foot-4 head coach, the Panthers were having terrible stats in almost all the categories this season. The team has an average of only 15.7 points per match, putting them in second place in this field. They are the worst in terms of yards per play this season (4.1). Moreover, the team is converting 37.2% of the third-down chances they have been getting.
The Panthers’ QB Bryce Young‘s form this year hasn’t helped Frank Reich either. The 22-year-old quarterback has been struggling with only 9 TDs and 8 interceptions in 11 games. All this led to poor play from the Panthers in all 11 games this season.
It’s obvious that all this has cost Frank Reich his position as the team’s head coach. Now, it’ll be interesting to see if the team can return to the winning track without Reich or not.