4 Christmas crackers from the Carolina Panthers 2022 season so far
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers fired Matt Rhule
This season can be split into two parts. Before and after the Carolina Panthers finally saw the light and fired Matt Rhule.
After running out of excuses and scapegoats for his own failings, a demoralizing defeat against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 5 was the final straw for David Tepper. The billionaire ended his expensive Rhule experiment ahead of time, which was met with widespread celebrations from a fanbase that called for this move long before it came to fruition.
Rhule was out of his depth from the moment he got into the building. Treating the Panthers like a college program was never going to bear fruit, with the former Baylor man reportedly holding the final say on personnel decisions and also complete control of areas such as social media.
This power is almost unheard of for someone with no NFL head coaching experience. Something that brought just 11 wins and nothing but dismal personnel moves at the quarterback position.
One only has to look at how the Panthers have progressed since Rhule’s departure to see what a problem his presence became. Even though he holds absolutely no accountability for the team’s miserable record under his leadership.
As is always the case with salesmen like Rhule, he landed on his feet quickly by getting the Nebraska job. College is where he’s best suited, but no matter how successful he might become with the Cornhuskers, the egocentric coach will never get a top job in the NFL again.