Matt Rhule – Carolina Panthers HC
The Carolina Panthers have bet the house that Matt Rhule is the man to lead them back to prominence. His first season as head coach was one of substantial change and the biggest of learning curves, but there was real hope this team could surprise some people in 2021 with the talent at their disposal.
As stated previously, things couldn’t have gone much better right out of the gate. Carolina easily disposed of their opening three opponents, but the Christian McCaffrey injury set things back considerably, and things haven’t quite been the same since.
Rhule and his staff need to take their fair share of the blame. In-game adjustments, penalties, and a lack of execution remain a concern, but the head coach also gets the final say on personnel decisions to further heighten scrutiny on what sort of job he’s doing.
One has to question pro player evaluation at the quarterback position. Something that’s seen Rhule come full circle and bring Cam Newton back despite releasing the iconic signal-caller in favor of Teddy Bridgewater.
A problem that could have been easily avoided had Rhule just let Newton occupy the starting position under center on the final year of his deal.
All hope is not lost just yet. But there are growing murmurs that Rhule might not be up to the job from large sections of the team’s fanbase.