In Carolina, Matt rolls… towards the exit. ESPN announces that Matt Rhule was relieved of his duties as coach on Monday.
The Panthers have confirmed the news, stating that Steve Wilks has been named interim.
Not really a surprise after the lifeless performance produced by his team on Sunday against the 49ers. The latest in a long series of disappointments.
Coming from the university ranks with a flattering reputation in 2020, Rhule leaves with a record of 11 wins for 27 losses. His first two seasons ended with five wins. The third ended after five games. Numerology is sometimes teased.
If the 47-year-old coach has never had a great quarterback at his disposal, the game choices and the lack of collective cohesion surely weighed in the choice of owner David Tepper to end the experiment. While the Giants or Bears win more games with probably less talent in the workforce, Carolina was starting to look bad on the field despite Christian McCaffrey, DJ Moore or Robbie Anderson. Having Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield to throw the ball to them didn’t help, but there was a bit of room to show better face.
The Panthers had given Rhule a 7-year contract, so he should be able to console himself by living quietly for as long as he wants. Unless he bounces back quickly on one of the positions currently available in the NCAA.
