Things have not gone well for the Carolina Panthers in the Frank Reich era. They are off to a 1-7 start and to make matters worse, they look to have made the wrong decision in their blockbuster trade with the Chicago Bears in the offseason.
Carolina traded multiple picks and wide receiver D.J. Moore to Chicago in exchange for the No. 1 overall pick. Many people were skeptical of how much they gave away to land the first pick, but having the chance to select a franchise quarterback, in the eyes of many, is priceless.
However, having the pick is one thing; making the correct choice is another. While it is still very early in their respective careers, the Panthers look to have made the wrong choice. Bryce Young has struggled at times through nine games while C.J. Stroud, who was selected No. 2 by the Houston Texans, is setting records and has his team in the playoff hunt.
That trade will have an impact on the franchise for years to come. They traded away a ton of assets to Chicago that if things don’t work out, they have set themselves back multiple years. Could Panthers ownership look to undo at least one of those moves after the season?
In the opinion of NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, there is at least a chance. He recently suggested that Panthers’ owner David Tepper could move on from Reich after one season as the head coach.
“I would’ve said zero chance a month ago,” Breer wrote about Tepper possibly firing Reich this coming January. “I still don’t think it happens, even with the Panthers now playing out the string. But I also know how intense things have gotten in that place the past few years under the leadership of owner David Tepper. So I do think Frank Reich and his staff have to show the owner a little something between now and the end of the season — the continued development of Bryce Young — for me to say the coaches there are completely safe.”
Reich hasn’t had the kind of impact the franchise had hoped he would on the young quarterback. Some comments he made a few weeks ago also raised eyebrows when he talked about how Tepper wanted a winner in Carolina now.
Moving up to the No. 1 pick is a huge risk. Watching the player who was selected the very next pick outperform who you ultimately selected is something that could cost people their jobs. Stroud has been a world-beater for a franchise that has been in a worse spot than the Panthers in recent years.
Breer isn’t the only insider that believes a move could be made involving Reich. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN said, “a few people I talked to last week openly wondered whether [Reich] would be on thin ice” by January. His ESPN colleague, Dan Graziano, piggybacked off of that as well.
“I’d be surprised if Carolina moved on from Reich after one year,” Dan Graziano of ESPN added. “I wonder a little bit about [general manager] Scott Fitterer, as it can’t be sitting well with ownership that No. 2 pick C.J. Stroud looks so much better so far than No. 1 pick Bryce Young, but I have no inside information to indicate that owner David Tepper is upset enough to fire people. We’ll stay tuned there, but as of now, I’d say that would be a shocker.”
Young and Stroud are going to be connected for the entirety of their careers as the No. 1 and No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Panthers and Reich certainly hope the gap between the two closes sooner than later, or some major changes could be made within the team’s brain trust.
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