The Carolina Panthers are interviewing former Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich for their head coaching opening on Wednesday.
The #Panthers are interviewing former #Colts HC Frank Reich for their vacant head coaching job today, the source said. He spent a year as a player in Carolina and has ties to the area.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 11, 2023
Reich was fired by the Colts this season after a 3-5-1 start. He was replaced by former Colt Jeff on Saturday. Indy proceeded to go just 1-7 the rest of the way through Saturday. Reich spent parts of five seasons as the Colts’ head coach, posting a 40-33-1 regular season record and a 1-2 playoff mark in two postseason appearances.
After a 1-4 start, the Panthers fired Matt Rhule. He was just 11-27 in parts of three seasons as head coach. Interim head coach Steve Wilks enjoyed much more success going 6-6 after taking over. Wilks appears to be in the mix for the full-time job, however, Reich could also be a viable candidate given his NFL success and his ties to the Panthers organization.
Before becoming head coach of the Colts, Reich was the offensive coordinator for the then-San Diego Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles. He won Super Bowl LII as the OC for the Eagles. He helped guide quarterback Carson Wentz to an MVP-caliber season and back Nick Foles to immense playoff success after Wentz was injured.
Reich didn’t get the same level of play from his quarterbacks in Indianapolis. However, he was dealt an unfortunate hand when Andrew Luck retired after just one season with him. He also only had future Hall of Famer Philip Rivers for one season before retiring. However, they tried the same thing with Matt Ryan and it looks like the same result could come to fruition.
Reich would be in a similar quarterback situation in Carolina if he is signed. The only sign caller under contract for next season is 2022 third-round pick Matt Corral. He suffered a season-ending Lisfranc injury during preseason.
Carolina owns the No. 9 pick in the 2023 draft. They could be in the mix for one of the best quarterbacks available, like Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s CJ Stroud or Kentucky’s Will Levis.
Many question marks surround the Panthers’ offense. Reich spent one season as the Panthers’ quarterback in 1995 and lived in Charlotte for a while, so it may still be an attractive job for him.
