Carolina Panthers fire Matt Rhule after two-plus seasons, install Steve Wilks as interim head coach
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.
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.
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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.
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.