Has Matt Rhule bet his Carolina Panthers future on Ben McAdoo?

Did Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule make the right hiring Ben McAdoo as offensive coordinator? It could decide his job fate.

The first two years of Matt Rhule as head coach of the Carolina Panthers have not been fun. And that’s probably putting it mildly after another campaign of serious frustration in 2021.

There was some hope his first year, obviously. But continued poor quarterback play, a mess of an offensive line and bad decision making on the field led to a brutal second season, bringing his total head coaching record in Carolina to 10-23.

With calls from fans to fire him already, reports this offseason said Rhule had to make a ‘rockstar’ hire for his next offensive coordinator, according to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, who is very well connected to those in positions of power within the organization.

On Friday, Rhule made his bet with former New York Giants head coach and Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach Ben McAdoo, a guy who the former Baylor man interviewed for the same position two years ago, and comes from under the same coaching tree in Tom Coughlin.

Firing Joe Brady midway through the bye week seemed like a desperate act from Rhule. One that didn’t bring any improvements with Jeff Nixon calling the shots and it was clear some true NFL experience was needed rather than relying on those from the college ranks once again.

McAdoo‘s performance as offensive coordinator will ultimately become the deciding fate of Rhule as Panthers head coach, and based on his track record, it’s a difficult hire to justify.