The Frank Reich era in Carolina is over after less than one season.
The Panthers announced that they fired their head coach after falling to 1-10 on the season with Sunday’s defeat against the Tennessee Titans.
“I met with Coach Reich this morning and informed him that he will not continue as head coach of the Carolina Panthers,” Tepper said in a statement. “I want to thank Frank for his dedication and service, and we wish him well.”
Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor will take over as the team's interim coach.
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This marks the second straight year in which the Panthers fired their head coach midseason. The team moved on from Matt Rhule just five games into the 2022 campaign before turning to interim head coach Steve Wilks. Weeks later, Reich was fired as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.
Carolina went 6-6 with Wilks in charge, but it opted to hire Reich as its full-time head coach in January.
The team traded up for the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and used the selection on Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young. Instead of turning things around with a new quarterback and head coach, the team has gone in the opposite direction.
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The Panthers are a league-worst 1-10 in 2023 and are guaranteed a losing record for the sixth straight season since Tepper bought the team. Young has struggled with one of the league’s worst supporting casts, and Sunday’s 17-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans marked the seventh time in 11 games that the Panthers failed to score 15 points.
Because of last year’s draft trade, the Panthers won’t even reap the benefits of a losing season this spring. They sent their 2024 first-round pick – which currently sits at No. 1 – to the Chicago Bears as part of the deal, so the earliest they will draft barring another trade is No. 33.
Tabor, Young and the Panthers will return to the field in Tampa Bay for a Week 13 matchup against the Buccaneers on Sunday, Dec. 3.
