By Michael Haag | Sports Editor
Former Baylor football head coach Matt Rhule was fired less than three years into his NFL stint with the Carolina Panthers on Monday, as first reported by ESPN and NFL Network. Rhule took the helm as head coach for the Panthers in early January of 2020 after an 11-3 season with the Bears, but now finds himself jobless following a 1-4 start to the 2022 season.
Carolina had signed Rhule to a seven-year, $62 million contract and after being let go, he’s still owed upwards of $40 million.
Less than six months ago, Panthers owner David Tepper said it may take up to five or six years to rebuild the organization. In late April, Tepper gave Rhule his full support amid rumblings of the 47-year-old coach’s potential firing.
“I believe in Matt. He has my full support,” Tepper said. “I’m a fan. I don’t like to lose. But it takes time and it takes a foundation, and it takes time to create the foundation to win. I do believe Coach Rhule and [general manager] Scott [Fitterer] have done a great job of creating that foundation.”
Tepper spoke to the media Monday afternoon following the morning announcement. In an opening statement, the fifth-year owner said it wasn’t an easy decision to make because Rhule is a high-character man.
“These days are never easy,” Tepper said. “It’s very human times in a very public way. I had a conversation with the coach [Rhule] this morning. It was short, cordial. He’s a gentleman, a true gentleman.”
In response to his comments made before the 2022 NFL Draft that were supportive of Rhule, Tepper said the team wasn’t showing signs of improvement in terms of the win column.
“A lot of time has passed here,” Teppers said. “We have the record that we have. I think that there has been progress of some sort, but we just aren’t getting over the hump and we have to get over the hump.”
Rhule was fired less than 24 hours after a 37-15 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. He finished his three-year run with a record of 11-27. Under his leadership, the team went 1-27 when allowing 17 or more points, including a stretch of 25 losses in a row, according to ESPN.
When asked about his future following Sunday’s loss, Rhule said he didn’t want to make it about him.
“I hope you guys can understand, I’m here to talk about the game,” Rhule told reporters. “I’ve always been very forthright with you guys. I have nothing to say about that now. Really just here to talk about the game today. I would never want to make this about me.”
On the same day, after Sunday’s game, the Panthers’ starting quarterback Baker Mayfield voiced his support for Rhule. The former University of Oklahoma quarterback said its more-so up to the players to execute, rather than Rhule’s leadership.
“We’re fine in the locker room when it comes to that,” Mayfield said. “There are a lot of plays that we just have to flat-out make — and he can’t do that. He can’t go make plays for us. He can’t do the execution for us.”
Teppers said Sunday’s game against the 49ers was not a major factor in Rhule’s firing, but that “there might’ve been a little bit of loss of intensity on the field yesterday.” He said that drop in intensity stood out compared to the first four games of the season.
The Panthers’ defensive pass game coordinator Steve Wilks was named the interim head coach on Monday, and Wilks made the decision to fire the Panthers’ defensive coordinator Phil Snow, who was a part of Rhule’s staff in Carolina and at Baylor, in the same role.
Per NFL Network, Rhule addressed his players and said goodbye and thank you before exiting the building on Monday.
Although the NFL didn’t work out for Rhule, he found great success as a college football head coach. Before being known to turn programs around, Rhule went from winning just two games in his first year at Temple University to posting 10-win seasons in both 2015 and 2016.
Following success with the Owls, Rhule took over for a polluted Baylor football program that came off a sexual assault scandal and saw Art Briles’ firing. Nearly every athlete of note transferred, and Rhule only mustered one win in his first season with the Bears.
Two years later, Rhule led the squad to an 11-3 season that featured a Big 12 championship game berth and a Sugar Bowl appearance. Baylor became the first Power 5 program to go from 11 losses to 11 wins in just two seasons.
With his proven collegiate success, Rhule will be a hot candidate over the coming months for any top-tier job openings in the NCAA.
