Grading Matt Rhule’s new coaching hires for the Panthers
By Jason Huber
Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule has overhauled his staff this offseason, but how well did he do with these new appointments?
The clock is ticking for Matt Rhule to turn things around for the Carolina Panthers and the head coach wasted no time making major staff changes as he enters a critical Year 3 in the role.
The first domino fell when Rhule fired offensive coordinator Joe Brady midseason. He went on to remove Carolina’s offensive and defensive line coaches as well as long-serving special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn once a disappointing season came to an end.
A few more of Rhule’s staff would end up leaving to pursue different opportunities, opening up even more spots for him to replace.
Minus the defensive line and secondary coach, Rhule’s coaching staff on defense remains the same and will once again be led by the experienced Phil Snow.
On offense? Only running backs coach Jeff Nixon, quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan, and assistant quarterbacks coach Matt Lombardi will return to the Panthers in 2022.
In total, Rhule made eight new coaching staff hires, meaning there won’t be any excuses if things go poorly once again. The good thing is that the former Baylor man actually brought on more legitimate NFL experience, which is something that was lacking before these substantial changes were made.
With this in mind, we took a look at and graded each new hire by Rhule this offseason.