Matt Rhule Fired by Panthers After 2-Plus Seasons; Steve Wilks Named Interim HC

The Carolina Panthers have fired head coach Matt Rhule after a 1-4 start to the 2022 NFL season.

The 47-year-old was 11-27 in his two-plus seasons in Carolina.

The Panthers announced that defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach Steve Wilks will take over as interim head coach.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported defensive coordinator Phil Snow has also been fired by Carolina.

One of the hottest names in coaching after a successful tenure at Baylor, Rhule failed to live up to the hype after making the transition to the pro game in 2020. The Panthers never won more than five games in a season during his tenure, which was plagued by injuries to star players and an inability to find a solution at quarterback.

Carolina had three different primary starters in Rhule's three years as coach. Teddy Bridgewater (2020), Sam Darnold (2021) and Baker Mayfield (2022) all failed to emerge as the option, and the Panthers strangely avoided using a high draft pick on a potential QB.

It's possible Rhule's tenure might have gone in a different direction if the Panthers were aggressive and traded up to take Tua Tagovailoa or Justin Herbert in 2020. Or, perhaps more realistically, hadn't invested multiple draft picks by trading for a sunk cost such as Darnold a year later.

Rhule opened the 2022 season firmly on the hot seat, so it's no surprise he's the first head coach fired amid the team's continued poor play.