Following the announcement of Tom Brady’s retirement and the hiring of Frank Reich, the Carolina Panthers have an opportunity to win the NFC South in 2023.
It has been five years since the Carolina Panthers have been competitive. Steve Wilks’ crew provided meaningful football in January for the first time in what feels like forever, but unfortunately, the job was not finished.
Enter the Frank Reich era.
Reich is a well-respected coach who boasts one of the most impressive offensive minds in the league. In terms of his culture and coaching style, he is the perfect antithesis of Matt Rhule and even David Tepper himself admitted that it was a mistake to hire a CEO-type head coach.
The former Indianapolis Colts head coach looks to take advantage and build upon what Wilks was able to accomplish in Carolina. Hopefully, this leads the franchise back to winning football.
Here are three reasons why Reich’s team can get over the hump and win the NFC South this upcoming season. Especially considering Tom Brady is no longer going to be a problem.
Reason No. 1
Carolina Panthers have the best defense
Make no mistake about it, the Carolina Panthers’ defense is a force. With supreme talents in Brian Burns, Jaycee Horn, and Derrick Brown, this is one of the best defensive rosters in the NFL.
They haven’t been able to sustain their success over the course of a season. But this could be attributed to the lack of offensive success resulting in a more gassed unit.
Reich and Scott Fitterer are committed to building the best staff possible in Carolina. Top-tier names such as Gus Bradley, Vic Fangio, and Marquand Manuel have been tossed out for defensive coordinator, with James Campen and Chris Tabor expected to be retained.
Couple this with the arrival of Duce Staley from the Detroit Lions, it could become one of the most stacked staff in Panthers’ history.
In Reich’s introductory press conference, he made it clear that the Panthers’ defense is the standout unit on the team. He also plans to do what it takes to progress it into a top-five defensive juggernaut moving forward.
Carolina Panthers have the best head coach
Even though he was fired by the Indianapolis Colts midway through the season, Frank Reich is a good football coach. He is very well respected, with owner Jim Irsay and his previous employer’s social media accounts showing him some love when the official announcement by the Carolina Panthers was confirmed.
Sometimes, teams want to move in a different direction. Unfortunately, Reich found himself out through no real fault of his own.
Let’s look at why Reich should be considered the best head coach in the division.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have Todd Bowles, who just coached in his first playoff game a few weeks ago in a loss to the Dallas Cowboys. For his career, he has 34 wins to 50 losses and has only one season where his team finished above .500 – his first season as New York Jets head coach in 2015.
Bowles also has the tall task of replacing Tom Brady, which we’ll discuss later.
Arthur Smith, the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, has yet to win more than seven games in a season. In his first two years, he is 14-20 and has finished bottom two in the NFC South during this span.
Smith could very well find himself on the hot seat this upcoming season if his team does not show improvement.
The New Orleans Saints head coach is Dennis Allen, who took over after Sean Payton retired in 2021. He has also never had a record above .500, and his best end-of-season finish was the previous campaign his team finished third in the South.
Allen’s team was also swept by the Panthers this season, including Matt Rhule’s lone win.
Reich has 40 wins in his career to 33 defeats and also secured a playoff victory in 2018. While not overly impressive, his offensive prowess gives him a leg up on a division filled with subpar coaching.
During his four years with the Colts, Reich never finished outside the top 16 in scoring offense, and only finished out the top 10 once. Something that should encourage Panthers fans ahead of an important offseason.
Carolina Panthers can have the best QB situation
Tom Brady has finally retired and the Carolina Panthers should be rejoicing.
Brady has won the NFC South two times in his three seasons as Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback. The legendary signal-caller also secured a Super Bowl in the lone year he did not secure divisional success.
With his absence and following the Buccaneers’ struggles in 2022, Tampa Bay may find themselves hard-pressed to find a replacement of his caliber. Currently, only Kyle Trask is under contract for next season.
The New Orleans Saints are also light at quarterback. In their case, just Jameis Winston and Jake Luton are under contract for 2023.
Andy Dalton turned in some admirable moments, but the team could turn back to Winston in hopes to land a better draft pick for 2024 to find their quarterback of the future. Light draft capital and an always shaky cap situation should take New Orleans off the market for a high-quality man under center this spring.
Desmond Ridder looks to be the top option for the Atlanta Falcons entering 2023. After taking the reigns from Marcus Mariota, the second-year pro looks to further develop his game and prove that he can be the future.
The second quarterback taken off the board in 2023, Ridder is a very raw prospect on a team with many needs on both offense and defense. The Falcons could go for a quarterback in the draft, but it’s more plausible they just run it back with their current options.
This leaves Carolina, who holds the No. 9 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Panthers currently only have Matt Corral and Jacob Eason under contract for next season and neither seems to be the best option.
As an offensive mind, Frank Reich will most likely want to select and develop his own quarterback. Eason is a backup that only saw time in 2023 due to injury including Corral who suffered a devastating Lisfranc injury.
As of right now, Carolina has the eighth-best draft value. Of the seven teams ahead of them, only the Houston Texans and Las Vegas Raiders find themselves in need of a signal-caller.
The Panthers can make a move and find themselves at the top of the draft to select the future of the franchise. This will increase their chances of winning the NFC South exponentially.