Reviewing 5 bold Carolina Panthers predicitons before the 2021 season
By Luke Gray
Carolina Panthers will end the season with a winning record
Result: Oh boy
This wasn’t the best prediction it’s clear to say. Maybe it was too much optimism for this team
However, a winning season couldn’t have ended further from the Carolina Panthers’ grasp.
After starting the season 3-0, expectations were high around the team. What followed was probably some of the worst football seen in this franchise’s 27-year history – 12 losses from the final 14 games left Carolina with a 5-12 finish.
By the end of the season, the Panthers were frankly the laughing stock of the league. National media outlets lambasted Matt Rhule for his odd two-quarterback system, with Skip Bayless of Fox Sports even calling the organization a “clown show”.
Despite all this, it seems that Rhule will be given a third year. One imagines if next season goes similarly to 2021, team owner David Tepper will be starting the search for a new head coach in 2023.
With the strength of schedule that the Panthers will face in 2022, it seems unlikely that Rhule – famous for his Year 3 turnarounds at Temple and Baylor in college – will be able to right the ship in the Queen City.
Only time will tell, obviously. But the one thing that cannot be disputed is there is a lot of work to do for Rhule and his coaching staff in the coming months.