Carolina Panthers fire head coach Matt Rhule
The first head has rolled in the 2022-23 NFL season: Matt Rhule was fired as coach of the Carolina Panthers after Sunday’s loss dropped the team to 1-4.
Week 5 of the NFL 2022-23 season has just wrapped up and already the first head has rolled. Head coach Matt Rhule ceased to be the leader of the Carolina Panthers after a record of one win and four losses at the start of this regular season.
The loss suffered against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday was the final nail on the coffin for Rhule, who says goodbye to Carolina with a record of just 11 wins and 27 losses as head coach of the franchise.
Through the same statement in which they announced the departure of the coach, the Panthers also confirmed that Steve Wilks, an assistant on Carolina’s defense, will be the interim coach for the rest of the season.
An expensive layoff
Rhule had four years left on the contract he signed when he left Baylor to make the jump to the NFL in 2020. Team owner David Tepper had convinced him to join Carolina on a seven-year, $62 million deal.
According to ESPN reporter Adam Schefter, the team will now owe Rhule more than $40 million dollars after his contract termination.
Carolina is already beginning to prepare for what will be the beginning of a new era, when the Panthers travel to the city of Los Angeles to face the downcast Rams, who have just been surprised by the Dallas Cowboys.