Carolina Panthers fire Joe Brady
The Carolina Panthers have fired offensive coordinator Joe Brady, the team announced Sunday. Senior offensive assistant Jeff Nixon will call plays for the club's final five games.
"I met with Joe this morning and informed him that I have decided to make a change," head coach Matt Rhule said. "I'm very grateful to him for his time and effort in helping us get established over this past year and a half."
The move comes as the Panthers are 5-7 and tied for last in the NFC South. The team is off this week before a game with Atlanta next Sunday.
Obviously, the 32-year-old will move to the top of any offensive coordinator job in college football, should he so desire. He was last seen at the college level coordinating one of the most explosive offenses in college football history as LSU went 15-0 and quarterback Joe Burrow won the Heisman Trophy in 2019.
Though Ed Orgeron made attempts to minimize Brady's influence at the time, the two seasons since at LSU proved Brady's value to the 2019 team -- and, it bears mentioning, the special talent of Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson and the rest of that Tigers offense.
Brady has lived essentially an entire career in the past four years: from anonymous NFL assistant, to title-winning coordinator, to the hottest free agent on the market, to an NFL coordinator with a rebuilt franchise, and now to a fired coach looking for work.
The next step will be for Brady to signal if he chooses to stay in the NFL or pursue college opportunities. Because if so, there will be no shortage of opportunities.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
