Looking Ahead: Six Candidates That Could Replace Matt Rhule
After 38 games, 27 losses, 24 draft picks, 50 camera cuts of his confused looks, and infinite tweets calling for his removal, Matt Rhule has been fired as the head coach of the Carolina Panthers.
David Tepper now has to make the most important coaching hire in the history of the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers have a rich tradition of intense fandom, on-field success, and a mantra that shapes everything about the organization. The past three years have wiped that tradition off of the face of the earth.
If you watched or attended (which you probably didn't if you're reading this because 70% of the crowd were 49ers fans) the game yesterday, this is evident. Fans are apathetic, the team isn't performing well, and the "Keep Pounding" legacy left by Sam Mills is hard to find when the deficits the team faces on the field balloon so quickly.
It is imperative that Tepper and Scott Fitterer (if he's still around in January) get this choice right. Here are a few options broken down into two different buckets, the known quantities, and the up-and-comers.
The Known Quantities
Sean Payton
Where there's smoke there's fire, and there's clearly some sparks here. Sean Payton has been rumored as a David Tepper favorite dating back to the 2022 offseason when Matt Rhule's job status was in question, and those rumors are already resurfacing.
Payton is clearly a successful head coach, having won a Super Bowl and leading the New Orleans Saints to a 152-89 record under his watch.
However, the Payton rumors don't come without some question marks.
First off, the Panthers would need to compensate New Orleans because Payton is still under contract with the team even though he is retired. Personally I wonder if New Orleans would be willing to deal their former head coach within their division, and if they do, the price may be steep. Carolina is already limited on draft assets in the 2023 draft and you have to wonder if they'd shell out anything for Payton.
On top of that, the bounty scandal from 2009-2011 is a cloud over Payton's head. He was suspended for the entire 2012 season and some Panthers fans certainly would question the morality of hiring a coach with that kind of background (even though Carolina threw everything about morality out the window in their courting of Deshaun Watson this summer).
Dan Quinn
Quinn is currently the defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys, and he is dialing it up for one of the best units in all of football. The Cowboys rank 6th in defensive DVOA (pending Monday Night Football) and are currently 4-1 with four of those wins coming with Cooper Rush under center.
On top of that, Dallas is the one of two defenses in the league to not allow an opponent to score more than 20 points in 2022. The man can coach defense.
He was the play-caller for the Legion of Boom Seahawks, and led the Falcons to the Super Bowl in 2016 as their head coach.
He left Falcons' fans with a sour taste in their mouth at the end of his tenure, and a large number of Panthers' fans would roll their eyes at the hiring of a known quantity like Quinn, but it does make some sense. Carolina has a ton of talent on defense, Quinn has coached in the NFL before (unlike Rhule), and has significantly rehabilitated his image as a play-caller in Dallas the past few years.
Steve Wilks
Our own Ian Black wrote a Steve Wilks primer earlier today, so I'll let him do the heavy lifting on Wilks's coaching history and why he is a candidate for the job.
His first crack at coaching in the NFL came in 2006 with the Chicago Bears, when then-defensive coordinator Ron Rivera hired him as a defensive backs coach. Wilks followed Rivera to San Diego, and eventually, Carolina as a mainstay over the former Panthers head coach's staff for years.
Once in Carolina, Wilks truly began to make a name for himself. The Panthers were a defensive powerhouse for much of Wilks's time in Carolina, and he was a large reason why. He was able to take advantage of the talent present, and develop more of it with players like former fifth-round pick Josh Norman performing at All-Pro levels.
The peak of this came in 2015 when Wilks- who had been promoted to Assistant Head Coach by this time- helped guide the defense to a league lead in takeaways, including a league-leading 24 interceptions en route to a Super Bowl appearance.
After Sean McDermott left to become the head coach of the Buffalo Bills, Wilks became a hot commodity league-wide quickly while serving as the Panthers' Defensive Coordinator. His prowess for understanding the ins and outs of the defensive game led him to interviewing for multiple head coaching positions before ultimately being hired by the Arizona Cardinals following the 2017 season.
Wilks lasted only one season in Arizona, compiling a league-worst 3-13 record with a decimated Cardinals squad. Though his first head coaching attempt in the NFL didn't go how he'd like, Wilks has found his footing and has served as defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns and for the University of Missouri, before returning to Carolina this season as a defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach.
The Up and Comers
DeMeco Ryans
Panthers' fans got a first-hand look yesterday afternoon at what a DeMeco Ryans coached defense could look like. The 49ers defense, led by Ryans as their coordinator, fly around the field and play an entertaining style of football. Ryans took over after Robert Saleh took the Jets head coaching job, and the 49ers defense hasn't skipped a beat. The Niners were 7th in defensive DVOA in 2021, and they are currently 1st through five weeks in 2022.
San Francisco is an incredibly talented team, but they're also oft-injured and Ryans has shown a propensity to get the most out of whoever steps onto the field. Also, by all accounts, Ryans is beloved by players and someone who could step foot into any NFL locker room and build a winning culture. Ryans would be the first name on my list to be the next head coach of the Carolina Panthers, and I'm going to spend the next four months praying that David Tepper feels the same way.
Shane Steichen
Steichen is currently the offensive coordinator of the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles, and it's clear why his name is buzzing as a head coaching candidate. In their five wins, the Eagles offense has been firing on all cylinders, and Steichen has Jalen Hurts playing like and MVP candidate.
The Eagles offense is currently 6th in EPA/play (estimated points added per play), and 5th in DVOA. Steichen has a talented offensive line and one of the best skill position groups in the league, but he's drawn up an offense that plays to Jalen Hurts' strengths and is putting him in a position to succeed.
Eagles fans (rightfully) came into the season wondering if Hurts would be their guy long-term, and he has proven early on that the answer to that question is a resounding yes. Some of that credit needs to go to Steichen and the multiplicity in the schemes he's running in Philadelphia, and Carolina needs an offensive mind like that in the building. The Panthers are currently 24th in points per game (with two defensive touchdowns) after finishing 29th in 2021 and 24th in 2020.
Ken Dorsey
Dorsey, like Wilks, has familiarity with Carolina. He was the Panthers' quarterbacks coach from 2013-2017 during Cam Newton's prime years.
Dorsey is now the offensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills after serving as the quarterbacks coach for three years. Dorsey helped transform Josh Allen (anyone familiar with his work?) from a toolsy top-ten draft pick into an MVP caliber, first team All-Pro quarterback in just a few years.
Now, as the offensive coordinator, Dorsey has the Bills offensive humming even with the departure of Brian Daboll (who has transformed the Giants offense overnight).
The Carolina-Buffalo pipeline has traditionally gone South to North, but I'd like to see it flip the other way and have Dorsey come back to Charlotte to lead the franchise into it's next era. Carolina will undoubtedly have a high draft pick and I'd throw Dorsey the keys and let him choose the quarterback that can run the team for the next decade.
Dorsey is an all-world offensive mind and as discussed in the Shane Steichen section, the offense needs work. Let Dorsey cook.
