The Carolina Panthers fired coach Matt Rhule on Monday after he led his team to yet another loss five games into his third losing season.
The organization cut Rhule, who went 11-27 with Carolina, with roughly $40 million remaining on the 7-year contract he signed in 2020 that guaranteed him $62 million, according to TSN. He is the first NFL coach to be fired this season, as his team fell to 1-4 after Sunday’s 37-15 home loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Steve Wilks, the defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach, will step up to take the place of interim coach for the remainder of this season.
The Matt Rhule era in Carolina is over — the Panthers just fired their head coach. https://t.co/AaVgQtK3Yo
— TMZ (@TMZ) October 10, 2022
Rhule has not issued a public comment regarding this matter as of yet.
A source close to the situation said the Panthers also fired defensive coordinator Phil Snow and Ed Foley, the assistant special teams coach, according to The Associated Press. Both Snow and Foley had previous experience working for Rhule at Temple and Baylor University.
NFL owner David Tepper will have to pay out the rest of Rhule’s deal until Rhule takes another job, at which point his earnings will count against what’s owed by the Panthers, according to TSN.
Rhule’s teams only went 5-11 in 2020 and 5-12 in 2021. The Panthers hoped he would revive the team in his third year the way he did at Baylor, as well as Temple, but the recent losing streak proved to be too much for the Panthers to endure. (RELATED: ‘I Was Salivating’: NFL Coach Has Bizarre Praise For Punt Returner’s Physique)
Panthers part ways with head coach Matt Rhule. pic.twitter.com/smD9fwWr0e
— NFL (@NFL) October 10, 2022
The Panthers took a hit with constant quarterback turnover under Rhule, which many believe to have been a big setback. Teddy Bridgewater was the starter in 2020, and Sam Darnold and Cam Newton in 2021.
Rhule’s firing came a full six full months after Tepper said declared it could potentially take five, or six years to rebuild a team capable of excellence, according to ESPN.