NFL’s Panthers have new coach
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina — David Tepper is entrusting Baylor’s Matt Rhule to lead the Carolina Panthers out of what he views as a cycle of “long-term mediocrity.”
The Panthers owner hired the 44-year-old Rhule on Tuesday to become the team’s next head coach. He replaces Ron Rivera, who was fired with four games remaining in the 2019 season.
The deal is worth $62 million US over seven seasons, with incentives to make even more for winning, said a person familiar with the situation.
The deal makes Rhule the sixth-highest-paid coach in the NFL, according to Forbes. The five coaches ahead of him — New England’s Bill Belichick, Seattle’s Pete Carroll, Oakland’s Jon Gruden, New Orleans’ Sean Payton and Baltimore’s John Harbaugh — have all won Super Bowls.
The Panthers met with Rhule at his home in Waco, Texas, on Monday. Rhule, who is from New York City, had been scheduled to visit with his hometown New York Giants later in the week and Tepper didn’t want to lose him.
“You have a new owner who is committed to doing things the best way. He’s a very much a process-oriented person,” Rhule told ESPN Central Texas radio on Tuesday. “That is really all I wanted. I wanted to go to a place that isn’t going to flail in the wind.”
Baylor went 11-1 in the regular season in 2019 before losing to Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game and Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.