Matt Rhule shoots himself in the foot once again during latest interview

Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule shot himself in the foot once again during a recent interview on WFNZ’s morning radio show.

Another day, another failed PR engagement for Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule.

The under-pressure head coach was a special guest on WFNZ‘s morning radio show on Thursday, where he delved into a number of topics including his own future, the decision to make a daring trade for Sam Darnold from the New York Jets, and why the Panthers opted to pass on Pro Bowl-caliber left tackle, Rashawn Slater, at No. 8 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.

This was a chance for Rhule to gain back some credibility after a campaign that began so well before descending into absolute chaos. However, it turned out to be an interview where he shot himself in the foot once again.

Whether such media availability was wise at this stage with the season now over is up for debate. Rhule is his own man and could have rejected it at any time, but he felt it was a risk worth taking given the unrest currently enveloping a disenchanted fanbase.

There was so much to unpack.

And almost none of it was good.

Matt Rhule doubled down on Rashawn Slater’s evaluation pre-draft.

First of all, he remained defiant regarding Slater’s length being a legitimate reason behind the Panthers going with Jaycee Horn instead, even after the former Northwestern star looked like an All-Pro during his first season with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Now, if you want to get a real feel for how these comments went down, take a few minutes to look through some scathing replies from fans, respected analysts, talent evaluators, and former players.

Rhule thinks that. It’s his opinion and he is entitled to it.

But why subject yourself to potential ridicule by publicly stating it after the season Slater had?

If that wasn’t enough, Rhule went on to discuss Darnold and said Carolina felt he was ahead of Justin Fields and Mac Jones in their draft evaluation. Upon further reflection, this must have been down to his NFL experience and nothing else looking at their respective numbers from college before entering the pros.

The numbers speak for themselves.

And the decision to acquire Darnold has backfired in a big way.

Rhule also went on to speak about wishing he’d put Brady Christensen – Pro Football Focus’ highest-ever graded left tackle at BYU – onto the blindside sooner was damning. Again, this was to do with arm length and not much else, calling into significant doubt his ability to properly evaluate pro personnel at the NFL level.

Whether this interview will alter team owner David Tepper’s mindset surrounding a change in head coach is debatable. The billionaire seems willing to give Rhule another season as head coach despite little to no progress in 2021, with the former Baylor man adding that he’d not been told his job status would depend on what sort of offensive coordinator joined the Panthers this offseason.

From a fan standpoint, this is becoming pretty tiresome.

And the Panthers are rapidly becoming the league’s laughing stock.

Judging by Carolina’s strength of schedule in 2022, it’s absolutely pivotal Rhule and others in power hit multiple home runs in positions of need this offseason. Otherwise, the pressure could reach a level that gives Tepper no alternative other than to remove his head coach from the equation.

This latest interview did nothing to inspire confidence. If anything, it made things worse for Rhule and something that the team or the man himself really didn’t need right now.