(Charlotte) The Carolina Panthers selected Frank Reich as head coach on Thursday.
Reich, 61, will join the Panthers after spending just over four seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. He went 40-33-1 there as head coach before being fired Nov. 7 — the Colts were 3-5-1 at the time.
Under Reich, the Colts made the NFL playoffs twice as a draft team, going 1-2.
Reich once served as the Panthers’ quarterbacks coach for one season. And he was on the starting lineup for the team’s first NFL game in 1995.
Reich thus became the sixth full-time head coach in Panthers history, following Dom Capers, George Seifert, John Fox, Ron Rivera and Matt Rhule.
Reich will inherit a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2017 — and hasn’t won a postseason game since winning the National Conference Championship in 2015. quarterback Cam Newton had been named the league’s MVP.
Ever since Newton began battling recurring injuries shortly after their 24-10 loss to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50, the Panthers have been looking for stability at quarterback.
They cut quarterback Baker Mayfield earlier in the offseason, and Sam Darnold is set to become an unrestricted free agent. Which means that Reich will have the task of solving this thorny problem as quickly as possible.
And for now, Scott Fitterer is still the general manager of the Panthers.