Philadelphia Eagles Ex Frank Reich Fired by Carolina Panthers
Frank Reich -- who was the Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator when they defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII -- was fired as coach of the Carolina Panthers Monday, the team announced.
"I met with coach Reich this morning and informed him that he will not continue as head coach of the Carolina Panthers. I want to thank Frank for his dedication and service, and we wish him well," owner David Tepper said in a statement. "Effectively immediately, special teams coordinator Chris Tabor will serve as our interim head coach. Senior assistant Jim Caldwell will be a special advisor to offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, who will take over play calling duties."
For Reich, it was a disastrous tenure in Carolina, but hardly one where he's the only party to blame. The Panthers are a league-worst 1-10, and to make matters worse, they traded their 2024 first-round pick to the Carolina Panthers to move up and select quarterback Bryce Young No. 1 overall in this year's NFL Draft.
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Young has underwhelmed in his rookie season, tossing nine touchdowns to eight interceptions. While there's been some reporting to suggest Reich preferred to take likely Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud with the first pick and Tepper put his thumbs on the scale for Young, owners don't get fired. And so, after just 11 games in Carolina, Reich is out.
It's the second consecutive year that Reich has been fired during the season, as the Indianapolis Colts dismissed him last November after a 3-5-1 start. Still, Reich went 40-33-1 in parts of five seasons with the Colts, guiding the team to two playoff appearances. There was a real feeling that his tenure was derailed when quarterback Andrew Luck shockingly retired days before the 2019 season began, which is why he got another coaching gig so quickly.
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However, even if there's plenty of blame to go around in Carolina, the 61-year-old Reich seems unlikely to get another chance to lead a team after this debacle. He'll probably still be coveted as a possible offensive coordinator in 2024, and the Eagles could potentially be a team to watch in that case.
Beyond having previously served in the role for the Eagles from 2016-2017 under Doug Pederson, Reich was the coach of the Colts when Nick Sirianni was the team's offensive coordinator from 2018-2020. Even if the Eagles offense at times has underwhelmed under new coordinator Brian Johnson this season, he's probably not a candidate to be fired after the season. However, if Johnson were to get a coaching job of his own, Reich would seem to be a pretty logical replacement, if he wants to coach in 2024.