Summary
- Carolina Panthers terminate contract of head coach Matt Rhule
- Rhule had signed a 7 year contract worth $62 million in 2020
- The Panthers had a 11-27 record with Rhule as head coach
When a team in any of the top sporting leagues which can be bet on, be it the NBA, NFL, NHL or MLB starts to lose games consistently, the pressure starts to automatically build on the head coach. Matt Rhule, the head coach of the Carolina Panthers was under a lot of pressure after the Panthers continued to play poorly.
The Carolina Panthers decided to part ways with Matt Rhule this week after the Panthers suffered another embarrassing loss over the weekend to the San Francisco 49ers going down tamely with a 37-15 scoreline. The loss saw Rhule’s record as head coach of the Panthers stand at a dismal 11 wins and 27 losses from 38 games.
The Panthers hired Rhule because his results at college level were outstanding when he worked with Baylor and Temple. The New York Giants were initially looking to sign Rhule but the Panthers put in a big offer and signed him back in 2020 on a 7 year contract valued at $62 million.
With the Panthers paying out heavy money for Rhule, owner David Tepper had high expectations from Rhule and the Panthers. However, the results were not good enough and it forced the hand of Tepper to step in and sack Matt Rhule. The sacking does not come as a surprise as Rhule knew that if he could not turn the Panthers around, the writing was on the wall.
The Panthers also ended up terminating the contracts of Ed Foley who served as the assistant special teams coach and Phil Snow who was the defensive coordinator.
Tepper said he had a very short conversation with Matt Rhule and said it was the right time and the right thing to do. Rhule will find it difficult to get another opportunity to be head coach of an NFL franchise based on his performance with the Panthers. However, he should be in great demand at college level once again.
The Panthers have asked Steve Wilks who was acting as secondary coach and defensive passing game coordinator to slot in as interim head coach, till the Panthers find a new head coach.