How much pressure is on Joe Brady after the 2021 bye week?

How much pressure is on Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady once the team returns after their 2021 bye week?

This bye week has come at a good time for the Carolina Panthers. Even though momentum is lower than it’s been in quite some time regarding their overall fortunes in 2021.

A period of reflection might be just what the Panthers need to hit the ground running down the stretch. Although it is absolutely vital the coaching staff comes together and makes the necessary adjustments to cope with a brutal run of games before the campaign comes to a conclusion.

There’s been a lot of finger-pointing after consecutive defeats to the Washington Football Team and Miami Dolphins. Much will depend on how the Week 13 slate goes, but it’s hard to envisage a situation where the Panthers are playing meaningful postseason football in January at this juncture.

One problem that’s obviously come up plenty this season is how things are progressing on offense. Unstable offensive line protection and inconsistent quarterback play haven’t made things easy, but the play-calling of offensive coordinator Joe Brady has also been the subject of criticism, especially of late.

Brady has a reputation as one of the league’s brightest young coaches. This is reflected by the former LSU passing game coordinator getting multiple head coaching interviews earlier this year without landing a top job.

A lot can change in just a few short months when it comes to the NFL.

And there appears little doubt Brady is a man under pressure over the next five games.

Carolina’s offensive stats speak for themselves:

• Points per game – 19.7 (19th)
• Yards per game – 308.7 (28th)
• Red zone TD scoring percentage – 55.88% (22nd)
• Touchdowns per game – 2.0 (26th)
• Passing yards per game – 197.4 (28th)
• Rushing yards per game – 119.3 (19th)
• Third down conversion rate – 34.78% (27th)

Joe Brady and the Carolina Panthers need to figure things out.

This is unacceptable when one considers how much talent Carolina has on offense. But the constant injury problems surrounding All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey haven’t helped Brady’s cause whatsoever.

Hopefully, Cam Newton can get a better grasp of Brady’s scheme during the bye week. Although his play-calling wouldn’t be classed as anything other than basic and it’s something that opposing defenses have figured out pretty quickly.

There could also be some growing friction between Brady and Matt Rhule, who was seen shouting down his headset at somebody during an offensive drive in Miami. The head coach has been eager to adopt a run-first approach on offense in recent weeks, something his coordinator hasn’t implemented efficiently more often than not.

Whether duties are taken out of Brady’s hands between now and the end of the season remains to be seen. But the coach is under immense pressure to put together a better game plan following the team’s bye week.

Brady has a lot on the line. Any further regression could result in NFL teams not looking in his direction for head coaching vacancies or worse, he might be looking for a job if the Panthers remove him from the equation.

It’s going to be interesting to see how things transpire on and off the field in the coming weeks. Brady will be feeling the heat more than most if things don’t go according to plan, which could be just the tip of the iceberg during what’s going to be yet another dramatic offseason period for the organization.