The Carolina Panthers fired coach Matt Rhule on Monday, ending the former Baylor coach’s tenure five games into his third losing season.
Posted October 10, 2022 12:28 p.m. EDT
Updated October 10, 2022 12:30 p.m. EDT
By STEVE REED, AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers fired coach Matt Rhule on Monday, ending the former Baylor coach’s tenure five games into his third losing season.
Rhule, the first NFL coach to be fired this season, went 11-27 with Carolina. The Panthers fell to 1-4 with Sunday’s 37-15 home loss to San Francisco as 49ers fans made Bank of America Stadium their East Coast home.
Defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach Steve Wilks will serve as interim coach for the rest of the season. The 53-year-old Wilks spent one year as Arizona’s coach in 2018, going 3-13.
Rhule did not immediately respond to voice and text messages on Monday.
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.
