The Carolina Panthers fired head coach Frank Reich on Monday. It could represent Reich’s last stop on an NFL sideline.
In an interview with The Charlotte Observer‘s Scott Fowler, Reich said Carolina was “probably the final chapter of my NFL journey.”
“It was a great opportunity,” Reich said. “The way the doors opened up for it was amazing. But there’s not always a storybook ending…. I also take comfort and find peace and strength that there is a next chapter of my life.”
EXCLUSIVE: In his first and only interview thus far since being fired earlier today, former Panthers head coach Frank Reich talks with me about David Tepper, what happened, how he’s feeling and whether he wants to coach again.
Only in @theobserver: https://t.co/ujuWAwPFq0— Scott Fowler (@scott_fowler) November 27, 2023
Carolina hired Reich in January, less than three months after he got fired from the Indianapolis Colts after a 3-5-1 start to the 2022 season. The Panthers fell to 1-10 following Sunday’s 17-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans.
Panthers owner David Tepper was overheard shouting an expletive after leaving their locker room following the Week 12 defeat.
Reich called the season “a heart-pounding disappointment” for him, the staff, and the team. Yet the 61-year-old holds no animosity toward Tepper for the quick hook.
“On a personal level, I saw a side of him that I deeply respect and care about,” Reich said of Tepper. “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.”
The Panthers, who fired Matt Rhule after starting 1-4 last season, will make an in-season coaching change for the second straight year and the third time since 2019. They also dismissed assistant head coach/running backs coach Duce Staley and quarterbacks coach Josh McCown on Monday.
Special teams coach Chris Tabor will replace Reich as the interim head coach.
Reich spent over a decade as an NFL assistant before getting his first head-coaching opportunity in 2018. He won a Super Bowl as the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive coordinator but has a 42-45-1 record (playoffs included) as a head coach.