It’s a good day for the Panthers just made a fantastic coaching hire with Matt Rhule heading to Carolina. I was initially worried by the decision to fire Ron Rivera midseason as the team ran off an 8 game losing streak to end the year. However, the Panthers ended up making out like bandits. Matt Rhule is an excellent head coach and Carolina hit a home run.
The news was first reported by Pete Thamel of Yahoo:
“Baylor coach Matt Rhule is finalizing a deal to become the next coach of the Carolina Panthers, sources told Yahoo Sports.”
All offseason, I thought that going the college route was the right call. There just aren’t enough quality NFL coordinators who are ready for a head coaching job. Rhule was one of the guys who stood out in college that teams should roll the dice on. Not to mention the fact that Rhule does have experience coaching in the NFL anyway under Tom Coughlin’s staff in New York.
Rhule is a culture and program builder. In 2017, Rhule took over a Baylor program that was on the verge of the death penalty. He went 1-11 in his first year. This past year, Rhule went 11-3 with virtually the same team. He also led Temple to double digit win totals in 2015 and 2016. This guy knows what he’s doing.
I find it interesting that Rhule essentially chose Carolina over the New York Giants. Rhule was born in New York City. The Giants wanted Rhule as their head coach and went with the Panthers. How could you blame him? With the Giants, he’s stuck with Daniel Jones and Dave Gettleman. In Carolina, he basically has a clean slate. He can pick his quarterback and has much better personnel on the roster. Rhule also totally declined to interview for the Browns. He’s a smart dude.
The Panthers got this one right. Rhule is a guy who is involved on both sides of the ball. He played linebacker for Penn State, coached offensive line for the Giants, and turns programs back from the dead. Bravo, Carolina.
