NFL Rumors: Former Colts HC Frank Reich to Interview for Panthers Job

The Carolina Panthers are interviewing former Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich for their head coaching vacancy Wednesday, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Reich was fired by the Colts this season after a 3-5-1 start and replaced by Jeff Saturday on an interim basis. Indy proceeded to go just 1-7 the rest of the way under Saturday.

All told, Reich spent parts of five seasons as head coach of the Colts, posting a 40-33-1 regular-season record and a 1-2 playoff mark across two postseason appearances.

The Panthers recently finished their fifth consecutive non-playoff season, although they did make some strides by going 7-10 after winning only five games in each of the previous three campaigns.

After a 1-4 start, the Panthers fired Matt Rhule, who went just 11-27 in parts of three seasons as head coach. Interim head coach Steve Wilks enjoyed far more success with a 6-6 record after taking over.

Because of that, Wilks figures to be in the mix for the full-time job, but Reich could be a viable candidate as well due to his NFL success and ties to the Panthers organization.

Before becoming the Colts' head coach, Reich was the offensive coordinator for the then-San Diego Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles. He won Super Bowl LII as the Eagles' OC, helping guide quarterback Carson Wentz to an MVP-caliber season and backup Nick Foles to immense playoff success after Wentz got injured.

Reich didn't get the same level of play out of his quarterbacks in Indianapolis, but he was dealt an unfortunate hand when Andrew Luck retired after just one season under his tutelage.

He also only had potential future Hall of Famer Philip Rivers for one season before he retired, and another possible Hall of Famer in Matt Ryan, who at 37 wasn't the same player this year as he was in his younger days with the Atlanta Falcons.

Reich would be in a similar quarterback quandary in Carolina since the only signal-caller under contract for next season is 2022 third-round pick Matt Corral, who suffered a season-ending Lisfranc injury during the preseason.

Experiments such as the acquisitions of Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield, as well as the temporary return of Cam Newton, have not worked out well for the Panthers in recent years.

Carolina owns the No. 9 pick in the 2023 draft, meaning it could be in the mix for one of the top available quarterbacks such as Alabama's Bryce Young, Ohio State's C.J. Stroud or Kentucky's Will Levis.

Many question marks surround the Panthers offense, but Reich spent one season as a Panthers quarterback in 1995 and lived in Charlotte for a time, so it may still be an attractive job to him.