Frank Reich hands over play-calling amid disastrous start with Carolina Panthers

It's easy to forget now, but the Carolina Panthers nearly reached the playoffs in 2022.

Sure, they went 7-10 and somehow finished only one game behind division champion Tampa Bay, and they also technically tied for last in the NFC South since Atlanta and New Orleans also finished 7-10, and Tampa Bay was quickly and thoroughly bounced in the Wild Card round by Dallas. All caveats apply. 

But the club's 7-10 finish was still impressive considering they started 1-4. Steve Wilks guided the Panthers to a 6-6 record after Matt Rhule's mid-season firing, but owner David Tepper elected not to award him the full-time job, instead opting for Frank Reich. 

Reich, by the way, had a worse 2022 record than Wilks. The Indianapolis Colts fired him nine games into last year's campaign after the club started 3-5-1. 

Six games in, the Reich era has been a disaster. The Panthers are 0-6, 30th in yards per play, 31st in yards per attempt, and 23rd in scoring.

On Monday, Reich handed play-calling duties over to offensive coordinator Thomas Brown.

Brown is in his fourth season as an NFL coach, and this will be his first play-calling appointment at the game's highest level. The former Georgia, Falcons and Browns running back coached running backs for Chattanooga, Marshall, Wisconsin, Georgia, Miami (he was also the OC) and South Carolina from 2012-19. He joined the Rams' staff in 2020 as running backs coach and added assistant head coach and tight ends duties before taking the OC role on Reich's Carolina staff.

Coming off a 42-21 loss to the Miami Dolphins, Carolina is off this week before a showdown (reckoning?) of the top two selections in the 2023 draft when CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans visit on Oct. 29.

As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.