BREAKING: Carolina Panthers Hire Matt Rhule

The Carolina Panthers acted quickly to hire Matt Rhule as the next coach of the team.

The Carolina Panthers have their man. And they weren’t willing to take any chances to lose him. The Panthers acted swiftly on Tuesday to agree to terms with new head coach Matt Rhule, swiping him away from the Baylor Bears and preventing him from getting to the New York Giants.

Rhule presents the Panthers with unique expertise in team-building, something that can restart a franchise that finished 5-11 in 2019. Rhule will be the 6th* head coach in Panthers history (*Perry Fewell counts but on an interim basis) and takes over from Ron Rivera, who held down the position for nine years and led the team to 76 wins and an appearance in Super Bowl 50.

Rhule orchestrated impressive turnarounds as the head coach for Temple and most recently Baylor, turning a 1-11 Bears squad into an 11-win team that challenged for the Big 12 title and faced Georgia in the Peach Bowl.

In seven years at the collegiate level, Rhule had three 10-win seasons, appeared in three conference championships (winning one), and turned two separate programs around despite having just one top 35 recruiting class.

The Panthers interviewed other candidates such as Mike McCarthy, Josh McDaniels and Perry Fewell, even going so far as to request an interview with Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald. 

In the end, the team narrowed the field down to Rhule and McDaniels, ultimately selecting Rhule over the embattled Patriots offensive coordinator.

Panthers fans can expect a completely different culture and set of development techniques under Rhule:

We’ll have more reaction throughout the day, as the Panthers make a massive move that will shape the future of the team for years to come.