Panthers hire Frank Reich as head coach

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The Carolina Panthers have their new head coach: Frank Reich.

Reich, who was fired last season as head coach of the Colts, has been hired as the new head coach of the Panthers.

The 61-year-old Reich went 40-33-1 in four and a half seasons as head coach of the Colts. He made the playoffs twice. He has previously been an offensive coordinator of both the Eagles and Chargers, and an assistant with the Cardinals and Colts before that. He had a 14-year playing career as an NFL quarterback, mostly as a backup.

Now he takes a Panthers team coming off a 7-10 season, and a team that needs to find its franchise quarterback. Whether that means taking a quarterback with the No. 9 pick in the 2023 NFL draft or bringing in a veteran remains to be seen, but Reich has been hired largely because of his experience with the quarterback position, and in the hopes that he’ll groom the next franchise quarterback in Carolina.

88 responses to “Panthers hire Frank Reich as head coach

  1. What was that load thud?? Oh, Frank Reich hired as head coach for Carolina. Glad I am not a Carolina fan.

  2. I’m sure that Panthers fans are ecstatic knowing that their HC isn’t Caldwell or Shaw. Most former HC’s perform much better their 2nd time around. Except for Caldwell and Shaw of course.

  3. They are for sure going to draft a QB, then. Reich is a solid human being, which counts for something.

  4. Interesting. If Ryans gets the Broncos job as reported I’m wondering if Payton will be told to go pound sand by all clubs. Maybe teams are thinking he’s not worth the picks they’d have to cough up.

  5. Wilks deserved the job. 6 – 6 with that roster is incredible.This will be just like the Raiders who will be looking for another coach soon.

  6. Phenomenal hire. Great coach, great man. Now trade up and go get Young, Stroud or Levis in the draft.

  7. A good hire, he has the running game can he develop Darnold and entice Colts players to help him there?

  8. Steve Wilks deserved the job hands down. However, its time to get on board and support the Carolina Panthers and their new Head Coach.

  9. The way he’s been trashed by the media, you’d never have known he had a winning record! It’s great when good guys get redemption!

  10. Reich was only as good as his coordinators. When they kept getting promoted he lost his luster.

  11. If they have a “wink and nod” agreement with the bears for the first pick, then this is a good hire. If they go with a veteran, then not so much.

  12. Given this hire I would assume Carolina trades up to get their QB of the future or trades for an established starter. No way the ride into 2023 with Sam Darnold and P.J. Walker as your starter.

  13. Wow. Thought they would stick with Wilks. That’s the thing about the NFL, certain guys keep falling up. This weekend Saturday will probably signed a long term contract with the Colts.

  14. Good grief. I supported Wilks. I don’t see how this retread does any better than what he did in Indy. Could Carson Yutz be coming to Carolina (ROFL)

  15. Richardson might be the only QB available at pick #9. The QB situation is very much like Indy.

  16. This is a tough one to swallow, as a Panthers fan. Just seems to be an overly safe waste of a hire. I am sure he is fine, but doubt he is willing to do what it takes to revolutionize the offense…

  17. Wow, Wilks got the shaft, but good for Reich, he didn’t deserve what he got in Indy.

  18. It’s a solid hire. They were definitely looking for an offensive minded coach and Wilks did not fit that requirement. Very interested in seeing what the rest of the staff looks like. Will they let Reich build the staff himself or is the owner (Tepper) going to meddle and hire a DC on his own (they’ve interviewed for the DC position already before they hired a coach is why I’m wondering this).

  19. jakethesnake123 says:
    January 26, 2023 at 2:15 pm
    Wilks deserved the job. 6 – 6 with that roster is incredible.This will be just like the Raiders who will be looking for another coach soon.
    ____________________________________________________________________________________________
    6 and 6 is not exactly resume padding material. They got embarrassed by Tampa Bay with a chance to go to the playoffs. No one will miss Steve Wilks.

  20. icantstandwhitecastleanymore says:
    January 26, 2023 at 2:14 pm

    Interesting. If Ryans gets the Broncos job as reported I’m wondering if Payton will be told to go pound sand by all clubs. Maybe teams are thinking he’s not worth the picks they’d have to cough up.

    ===================

    The only head coaching job I see for Payton at the moment is with the Chargers. He had a pretty good run with a former Chargers QB while with the Saints, and Herbert is the real deal. But unfortunately for Payton that job isn’t open.

  21. I am still wondering if we see a Brady , Payton in Dallas if not Raiders. If the former, Dak in a picks/players/salary swap.

  22. good coach just got stuck with the wrong team. they have ammo in picks and a defense. could wind up being a great fit

  23. ironically, Frank Reich was our first quarterback, back in 1995. he lasted 5 or 6 games before giving way to Kerry Coliins, who did really well for a couple years before flaming out (alcohol involved)

  24. This feels very much like the Lovie Smith hire last year with the Texans. Only sense i can make of it is that Ben Johnson really was their guy and when he said no to everyone they went big game hunting and when they realized they couldn’t get Sean Payton they settled on a hire they know they could fire next offseason without much resistance.

  25. I remember when the Rooney Rule came about, the sense was that its goal was to get more minority head coaching candidates in front of owners and nothing more was expected. At the same time, the idea was that owners remained free to hire who they wanted to hire.

    The Rooney Rule isn’t–and shouldn’t–be a guarantee of anything. Owners should be allowed to hire who they want to hire. And that includes Jeff Saturday.

  26. Count me as another who thought Wilks should have been hired. That the Panthers didn’t quit after the McCaffrey trade, and arguably got better once he left, was more than enough reason to give him the job.
    Reich isn’t a bad hire, but I’m not sure he was more deserving than Wilks given how their teams played this year under bad circumstances.

  27. He had 847 QB’s in Indy, please give the Man someone to work with for a few years

  28. So the Texans are front runners for Paton? My enthusiasm for him was never high because of character issues and it’s been slipping with all the BS posturing, but I think he’d help them stabilize within a couple years. If I’m Denver I wait to interview Ryans and Shaw.

  29. I wonder what he’s getting paid? Reich could’ve joined Kingsbury in Taiwan for the next 4 years because the Colts were paying him not to coach through 2026.

    I thought he would take a year off to at least decompress and digest what went wrong but he needs to get the QB right this coming year. The colts were a mess because of all the bandaids at the QB position.

  30. Reich doesn’t have to buy a house in Charlotte. He already owns one. I think the Indy deal was spoiled by having to scramble after Luck quit and that his boss was named Irsay. Now can he find the right QB to whisper “Super Bowl” “Super Bowl” “Super Bowl”?

  31. dryzzt23 says:
    January 26, 2023 at 2:11 pm
    I’m sure that Panthers fans are ecstatic knowing that their HC isn’t Caldwell or Shaw. Most former HC’s perform much better their 2nd time around. Except for Caldwell and Shaw of course.
    =============================================================================

    That’s funny….

    Caldwell was a decent coach and was the coach the last time the Lions made the playoffs.

  32. This franchise really blew it when they fired Coach Rivera. That move was akin to the Browns terminating Belichick. Coach Rivera took the Panthers to a Super Bowl and now has the Washington Commanders poised to do the same next year. The Panthers should have never let Ron leave the building.

  33. 1westcoastfootballfan says:
    January 26, 2023 at 2:14 pm
    They are for sure going to draft a QB, then. Reich is a solid human being, which counts for something.
    /////
    Does it, count for something? Winning. That’s the only thing that counts in the NFL. Nothing matters what you do if you don’t win. Nothing. And this guy was a head coach, and he didn’t win.

  34. dryzzt23 says:
    January 26, 2023 at 2:11 pm
    I’m sure that Panthers fans are ecstatic knowing that their HC isn’t Caldwell or Shaw. Most former HC’s perform much better their 2nd time around. Except for Caldwell and Shaw of course.
    ________________

    Shaw has never been a NFL head coach once, so obviously not a second time. Caldwell is widely acknowledged to have done a good job with the Lions, his last head coaching position.

  35. The Smartest Guy In The Room (Tepper) outsmarts himself again. Why they didn’t keep Wilks and hire Reich as offensive coordinator is beyond me. Reich has shown some aptitude on offense, and Wilks did a great job as HC the last 3/4 of the season with a talent-thin roster and no McCaffrey

  36. As an outside observer, I thought Steve Wilks did well enough to get the permanent job.

  37. Good hire I think. Frank had a rough task in Indy. Never had a QB. He had a 90 year old Rivers, a broken Carson Wentz and the Ghost of Matt Ryan. If they can get a QB he’ll be successful. Simple as that.

  38. Prediction (and I’m sure hope I’m wrong):
    We are either going to vastly overpay the Bears for Bryce Young, overpay someone else to draft Levis, or not trade up and waste our 1st round pick on Richardson.
    Maybe Reich can turn Darnold into a competent game manager (he did show some signs of improvement this season), or maybe we should look at Carr or another free agent as a bridge to our future franchise qb.

    What we really need is a speedy deep threat, a consistent TE, and some depth for our good young defense and vastly improved OL. The biggest thing is to stay on the field longer on offense, and score some more points to take some pressure off the defense. too many 3 and outs led to too many injuries on defense the last couple years.

    Our division is wide open.

  39. I forgot the Colts had gone to the playoffs twice with Reich. A winning record and two playoff births. Good move, Irsay.

  40. icantstandwhitecastleanymore says:
    January 26, 2023 at 2:14 pm
    Interesting. If Ryans gets the Broncos job as reported I’m wondering if Payton will be told to go pound sand by all clubs. Maybe teams are thinking he’s not worth the picks they’d have to cough up.
    ——————————————————————————-
    I’m not convinced the Cowboys are out of the Payton hunt. Yes Jerry said he’s happy with McCarthy, but what do you expect him to say? Smart poker players keep their poker hands to themselves. For a year now we’ve read and heard how enthralled JJ is with bringing in SP, why should that have changed. Also if Dallas ends up being the last/lone interested party they may be able to negotiate the price down. Jerry May not be a great GM but he must be a smart businessman.

  41. Good for Reich because I think Tepper is demanding but he has to be less wacky than Irsay and less of a meddler

  42. Wilkes was a one and done head coach in AZ. Hard to ever recover from that. He did ok this year but there was no pressure. They were a bottom feeder when he took over. Nobody had anything to lose. That’s different than taking over for a new season. The same people who are killing Hackett today are crying that Wilkes deserved the job. Wilkes had his chance. He is what he is.

  43. Great hire. Hopefully he can fill out that staff. You can bet viewers will be confused by the similar jerseys next season just sayin

  44. The idea of Reich is more appealing than the reality of Reich.

    But then, the idea of coaching the Panthers is more appealing than the reality of the Panthers.

    Despite his background in and familiarity with ‘the Steeler way,’ Tepper’s time as Panthers owner has been the opposite of the Rooneys’ calm approach ie chaotic and controversial. From the practice-facility fiasco to the typical demand for a new stadium, financial whiz Tepper’s goodwill ledger is well out of balance with his moribund club and obstreperous manner to date.

    Reich may find himself nostalgic for the relative sanity of Jim Irsay.

  45. Except for Caldwell and Shaw of course.
    _______

    Caldwell went from having Peyton Manning as his QB to coaching the Lions. And he had winning records 3 of 4 years with Detroit which given their history is extraordinary. This was their first winning season since Caldwell was there.

  46. I think they’re looking for a coach who has a chance to get something out of a QB. Whether that be through the draft or FA. Wilks had this team playing well but it wasn’t sustainable. It’s a QB driven league and teams are always looking to hire offense coaches. Wilks did his job as the interim coach I’ll give him that. But I think the Panthers made the right move.

  47. Reich has a winning record. His teams had a winning record 3 years out of 5 and he won a playoff game. This is all above average.

  48. mainewoodchopper says:
    January 26, 2023 at 3:56 pm
    Wilkes was a one and done head coach in AZ. Hard to ever recover from that. He did ok this year but there was no pressure. They were a bottom feeder when he took over. Nobody had anything to lose. That’s different than taking over for a new season. The same people who are killing Hackett today are crying that Wilkes deserved the job. Wilkes had his chance. He is what he is.
    —————————————————
    How much of a chance did Wilks have in Arizona with Josh Rosen as his QB? I doubt Bill Walsh at his best could have done much in that situation.

  49. “Stephen A. Smith won’t be happy about this.”
    —————

    When is he ever happy about anything?

  50. krycek21 says:
    January 26, 2023 at 2:41 pm
    I am still wondering if we see a Brady , Payton in Dallas if not Raiders. If the former, Dak in a picks/players/salary swap.
    ————————————————————-
    $90 million in dead money in 2023 for Dak alone. He’s not going anywhere.

  51. ilovefishinginsteadofnfl says:
    January 26, 2023 at 4:06 pm
    i am not too sure,but Wentz didn’t prosper under Reich did he…
    —————————————
    Wentz was voted to the Pro Bowl under Reich’s second year as the OC.

  52. On January 1st Wilks played for his job. He lost. He was lucky to get a 12 game tryout after 3-13 in Arizona. If Ryans does not get a job then we can talk.

  53. After the gigantic egg he just laid with the Colts? There’s absolutely no reason to give this guy another shot after the job Wilks did.

  54. Reich didn’t have a long-term young franchise QB when he was with Indy. He can’t be blamed for that. Yes, that is the same problem now that he is with Carolina, but there are a couple of things going in his favor. The NFC is much weaker, and I think Carolina has the better owner. In addition, the league has been hiring far more offensive minded coaches, not defensive.

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