Panthers fire head coach Matt Rhule after two-plus seasons

Matt Rhule’s brief tenure in Carolina has come to a close.

The Panthers announced Monday that they have parted ways with their coach after a 1-4 start to his third season. Rhule went 11-27 (.289), which is the worst mark of any NFL coach since the beginning of the 2020 season. His latest loss was a 37-15 drubbing by the 49ers on Sunday.

Longtime Panthers assistant Steve Wilks, who went 3-13 as the Arizona Cardinals HC for the 2018 season, has been named the interim coach.

Under Rhule, the Panthers were outscored by an average of 4.8 points per game (27th in NFL), and a minus-25 turnover differential (25th in NFL), and were 1-27 when the opposing team scored 17-plus points, including losing 25 in a row when that occurred.

From 2011-2019, the Panthers won five or fewer games just once (2019). However, under Rhule, the Panthers never won more than five games in a season (five in 2020, five in 2021, one in 2022). They also lost seven games by 20-plus points under Rhule.

Lastly, with Rhule at the helm, the Panthers averaged 19.7 points (28th in NFL), 316.6 yards per game (29th in NFL), and produced 30 or more points only four times (T-27th worst in the NFL).

Prior to the 2020 season, the 47-year-old Rhule was lured away from Baylor with a seven-year, guaranteed $62 million contract by David Tepper, the second-wealthiest owner in the NFL.

Tepper was initially patient with Rhule following Sunday’s loss, but grew increasingly agitated and changed his mind on Monday.

Rhule said after the game he didn’t want to discuss his job security because he didn’t want to make it about himself.

The Panthers hoped Rhule could turn things around in his third year as he did at Baylor and at Temple before that. The team had constant turnover at quarterback under Rhule, with Teddy Bridgewater as the starter in 2020, and Sam Darnold and Cam Newton getting starts last year.

The Panthers traded for Baker Mayfield this offseason. But the 2018 No. 1 overall draft pick has struggled mightily, ranking last in the NFL in ESPN’s total quarterback rating. Mayfield has completed 54.9% of his passes and is averaging fewer than 200 yards passing per game with four touchdowns and four interceptions.

Mayfield injured his ankle in the loss to San Francisco and was in a walking boot after the game. It’s unclear if he will miss any time.

Mayfield was one of several players who spoke out in support of Rhule.

“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.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.