The Carolina Panthers have sacked Veteran Head Coach Frank Reich after just 11 games.
Owner David Tepper said, “I met with Coach Reich this morning and informed him that he will not continue as head coach of the Carolina Panthers,” Tepper said in a statement. “I want to thank Frank for his dedication and service, and we wish him well.”
“There’s a heart-pounding disappointment in not hitting the marks that we needed to hit to keep this going and try to get it turned around,” Reich told The Charlotte Observer on Monday. “It hurts me for the guys, the team, the coaches and the fans.”
“I want to convey that I have nothing but positive thoughts about Mr. Tepper,” Reich said. “On a personal level, I saw a side of him that I deeply respect and care about. But the NFL is a meritocracy. It’s not unconditional love. I understand from a professional standpoint Mr. Tepper is going to have certain standards that he expects to have met. I have no hard feelings, and my personal relationship with him was actually a real highlight of this short time.”
WHAT NEXT FOR PANTHERS BRYCE YOUNG?
The sacking of the head coach who was supposed to mentor the rookie number 1 pick Bryce Young is certainly a little surprising, although the product on the field has been frankly appalling this season. But David Tepper seems to be sticking with his rookie slinger.
“Now, look, everything that’s right here, everything that’s wrong here, ultimately it’s my fault,” he said. “I’ve got the final say. But as far as those decisions, whether it’s Frank Reich or it’s Bryce Young, those decisions were made.
“And in the case of Bryce it was almost … I believe it was a unanimous decision from the coaches and the scouts. And very strong opinions at the time. Originally, we thought we were going to the No. 2 pick, and we thought we’d get C.J.,” Tepper said. “We thought the Texans were going to take Bryce. And listen, we preferred Bryce. He was our No. 1 choice. We had a lot of conviction.”
The Panthers also sacked assistant head coach/running backs coach Duce Staley and quarterbacks coach Josh McCown. Special teams coach Chris Tabor will be the Panthers interim head coach.
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