NFC Week 5 overreactions: NFC East has taken over just in time for Cowboys-Eagles clash
Mackenzie Salmon ‘overreacts’ to the biggest storylines in the NFC after all the Week 5 action in the NFL.
USA TODAY
The first coaching change of the 2022 NFL season has arrived.
The Carolina Panthers announced Monday they have parted ways with Matt Rhule after two-plus seasons and have named defensive pass game coordinator/secondary Steve Wilks as the interim head coach.
The Panthers fell to 1-4 Sunday after their 37-15 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Rhule, 47, whose teams were marked by ineffective play at quarterback and a lack of explosive offense, leaves Carolina with an 11-27 record. He becomes the first coach in Panthers franchise history to serve fewer than three seasons.
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“I hope you guys understand, I’m here to talk about the game,” Rhule said Sunday after the loss against San Francisco when asked about his future with the organization. “I’ve always been very forthright with you guys. I have nothing to say about that now. Really just here to just talk about the game today. I would never want to make this about me.”
The Panthers had cycled through several quarterbacks during Rhule’s tenure. He started with moderate success with Teddy Bridgewater under center, along with Joe Brady as offensive coordinator. Then, Carolina traded Bridgewater in April 2021 and installed Sam Darnold at quarterback for that season before turning to veteran Cam Newton when Darnold suffered a shoulder injury. Initially, Newton played well but struggled to find consistent production.
Amid Carolina’s inefficiency, Rhule opted to fire Brady in December 2021 with five games left in that season.
At the start of the 2022 season, Carolina traded for former Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, who eventually beat out Darnold in training camp in August to win the quarterback competition.
Through five games this season, Mayfield has completed passes at a career-low 54.9% for 962 yards with four touchdowns versus four interceptions.
In 2022, the Panthers are near the bottom in most major offensive categories, ranking last in total yardage (271.4 yards per game), first downs (14.2 per game), third-down conversion rate (24.19%) and time of possession (25:23). Carolina is also tied for 24th in scoring with 18.6 points per game and ranks 28th in passing yards per game (181.6) and 27th in red zone conversion rate (41.67%).
Perhaps no indicator shows the effect of Rhule’s offensive struggles on the team than this: the Panthers went 1-27 in games in which the opposing team scored 17 points or more, including 25 consecutive losses.
Wilks, 53, served one season as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2018. He went 3-13 and was abruptly fired at the end of the season. Following that, he went on to become the defensive coordinator of the Browns in 2019 and of the Missouri Tigers in 2020 before rejoining the staff of the Panthers. He had previously spent the 2012-17 seasons in Carolina in a variety of defensive roles.
Carolina had hired Rhule in January 2020 after he had spent seven seasons as a head coach in the college ranks. Rhule helped turn around Temple, going 2-12 in his first season with the Owls in 2013, before he ended his tenure there with a pair of 10-win seasons. He was then hired as Baylor’s head coach in December 2016, where he eventually led the Bears to an 11-win campaign in 2019, including a berth in the Sugar Bowl.
