NFL coaching carousel tracker 2023: Who’s been fired, who’s been hired?

The NFL coaching carousel has officially stopped, as every team has made its big hire of note.

Despite 10 NFL teams making a change at the helm last offseason, nothing is going to stop owners from firing their head coaches.

No, there were not 10 openings this cycle; only half that amount. This is because there were not enough quality candidates to be had this offseason. Although we only got five, keep in mind this one very important thing: There are only 32 of these jobs to be had. While owners should give the coaching candidate pool plenty of time to be properly replenished, it is easier to point the finger.

As the coaching carousel has finally halted, here is who has been fired and who has been hired.

Table of Contents

• Introduction: Carolina Panthers go with the first starting quarterback in team history.
• Page 2: Indianapolis Colts hire yet another Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordiantor.
• Page 3: Denver Broncos took to television to fix their unbelievably lackluster offense.
• Page 4: Houston Texans hire their former star linebacker to lead them out of irrelevancy.
• Page 5: Arizona Cardinals hire the defensive coordinator off the losing Super Bowl team.

NFL coaching carousel tracker 2023: Who’s been fired? Who’s been hired?

Carolina Panthers: Matt Rhule -> Frank Reich

The Carolina Panthers were the first team to pull the plug on their head coach. Newish owner David Tepper made a bold move to pry former Baylor head coach Matt Rhule out of Waco, despite only having had one year of NFL experience prior to 2020. Even though he never had a franchise quarterback at the helm, Rhule was let go because of Carolina’s persistent offensive ineptitude.

While Rhule returned to the college game by taking over for Scott Frost at Nebraska, his run in Charlotte was a forgettable one. Rhule went 11-27 in parts of three years at Carolina, including a 1-4 mark before getting whacked a third of the way through the 2022 NFL season. Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks took over in the interim, going a commendable 6-6 in his first 12 games.

Although Wilks was a candidate to have the interim tag removed, Tepper went big game hunting. He hired former Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich to be his guy going forward. Reich returns to Charlotte where he was the first starting quarterback on the expansion team. He threw the first touchdown pass in Panthers history before Kerry Collins took over after Week 3 in 1995.

This is an interesting hire for the Panthers. Reich had opportunities to be an offensive coordinator at many places, but viewed himself as a head coach. He bet on himself to beat out Wilks for the job at the end of the day. For Reich to have success in Carolina, he needs to align himself with a franchise quarterback. Losing Andrew Luck to retirement prematurely in Indianapolis ruined him.

With Carolina in one of the weakest divisions in football, Reich could get this turned around fast.

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