Panthers players hear the boos, see the ‘Fire Matt Rhule’ shirts, but back their HC
UPDATE (Monday, 11:51 p.m.): Despite the backing of his players, the Carolina Panthers fired head coach Matt Rhule on Monday. Rhule will be replaced by defensive passing game coordinator/secondary coach Steve Wilks, who will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the campaign. Wilks, a Charlotte native, previously served as the Arizona Cardinals head coach in 2018.
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Brian Burns was angry.
The Carolina Panthers’ star defensive end had just played through his 11th loss in the past 12 regular-season games. He was surrounded by reporters, who peppered him with questions about locker room unity and vocal fans screaming for his head coach’s job.
With emotion in his voice, Burns made it clear that he has Matt Rhule’s back, even as boos fill Bank of America Stadium on a weekly basis.
“People want to blame him — he takes all of the blame because he’s the head coach, and he’s a stand-up guy in my opinion — but that’s one of the reasons we’re behind him so much, because he’s never, I’ve never seen him throw anybody under the bus — that’s just me,” Burns said. “Even when it comes down to meetings, he’s big on accountability, and I believe in that. I believe if you (expletive) up, stand up on it. Stand up on what you did. And I’m the first one who would do that. There are some plays I left out there. I’ve got to play better ... But he’s a big guy of accountability and I believe firmly in that.”
Burns’ message of accountability and execution was echoed by fellow leaders in the locker room following the Panthers’ 37-15 blowout loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
The Panthers had endured their second consecutive home blowout loss, presumably leaving Rhule on the shakiest ground of his tenure.
Still, running back Christian McCaffrey, the team’s top offensive weapon, didn’t blink when asked about his confidence in Rhule, who has led the Panthers to an 11-27 record to this point.
“I would say I have full confidence in Matt,” McCaffrey said. “Players win games. I’ve always believed that the head coach and the quarterback get way too much credit (and) way too much blame.”
The veteran players in the locker room have seen some tough times over the years. The squad has finished with just five wins in each of the past two campaigns.
But the majority of the veterans who spoke in the locker room after the loss to the 49ers blamed the roster and not the coaching staff or Rhule for their shortcomings through five weeks.
“Honestly, we just gotta play better,” offensive lineman Cam Erving said. “We’ve got to execute better, and we have to go out there and play with an attitude. We’ve got to be the more physical team every week — it can’t be a decision. That’s where we’re at right now. Guys just have to execute the offense. Coaches get a lot of crap about play-calling and x, y, z, but I’m saying this as a player that’s watching this — we as players have to execute better.”
Panthers players have heard the boos and seen the “Fire Matt Rhule” shirts. They also saw 49ers fans take over their home stadium like they were in Santa Clara, Calif.
While they understand they aren’t delivering on the field, the players still think Rhule is bearing the brunt of their poor play.
“I don’t think it’s easy, because from a player’s perspective, obviously, the head coach is the leader of your team,” long snapper JJ Jansen said. “From another perspective, it’s really an indictment of the players — that we’re not playing well enough to win games, and so that obviously, of course, gets reflected at the coach and that kind of trickles down to the players. But the reality is, it’s about us playing well. And if we play well, everybody loves the coaches, loves the players, all those things. It’s hard because it’s truly an indictment on us as a team and as players.
“I think you take it to heart and you realize like, ‘Hey, we’ve got really loyal and committed fans,’ and we haven’t won, and so they’re going to let us hear about it. That’s what fans should do. I don’t know that it gives more motivation, but you certainly take that into account as you prepare for the next week because you don’t want that feeling.”
Rookie Ikem Ekwonu, this year’s first-round pick, has only been in the NFL for five regular-season games, but he isn’t wavering on Rhule, despite the miserable start to his NFL career.
“I obviously don’t like to hear it,” Ekwonu said about the boos and jeers from the home crowd. “I’ve been able to build a relationship with Coach Rhule. I feel like Coach Rhule is a guy that a lot of guys on the team have respect for. Disappointed — I feel like he takes a lot of flak for stuff that might not necessarily be his fault. If people aren’t executing, he can’t be on the field and play for us. So, I feel like he gets a lot of heat. Every time I hear that, I get a little disappointed, honestly.”
The NFL is a results business. Rhule has won just 28.9% of his games in 38 tries. Eventually, the lack of success will catch up to him.
For now, though, the locker room is backing him, even as the outside noise becomes impossible to ignore.
“You have to appreciate him, because every team, every coach doesn’t care about their players as much as Coach Rhule does,” Erving said. “We have to do it — not just for us but for him. We know what’s going on, we know what’s been said outside of this building, so we have to be together for that simple reason alone. Nobody can come in between what’s in here.
“You can say what you want outside but nobody can come in between what’s here, because at the end of the day, we still have to go out here and play games. And we have to go out here and execute.”
This story was originally published October 10, 2022 at 5:45 AM.
