5 Carolina Panthers who’ll be glad to see the back of 2021 season
By Dean Jones
Matt Rhule – Carolina Panthers HC
The Carolina Panthers placed a substantial amount of faith in Matt Rhule to turn around the franchise. A seven-year, $60 million deal to prise him from Baylor and outbid the New York Giants was what it took to land the head coach, but there doesn’t appear much in the way of progression or positive results to shout about.
Rhule claims the process is “1,000 percent working”, we just can’t see it. Until fans and analysts can, then his seat will only get warmer even if he does get a third season.
Perhaps Rhule wouldn’t be under so much pressure if he didn’t also have the final say in personnel decisions. But a recent scathing article from Joe Person of The Athletic left no doubt as to how much influence he has on recruitment.
The NFL is a completely different ball game to college. Time is of the essence in the pros and what transpires this offseason is going to determine one way or another whether Rhule was the right man for the job.
In truth, most have already made up their minds.
As stated previously, reporters such as Person, Ian Rappaport, and Jonathan Jones expect Rhule not to depart this offseason. A major gamble by Tepper judging by the way things transpired in 2021 following the team’s 3-0 start.
Whether this pays off or not will have significant ramifications.