CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With the Carolina Panthers in the midst of one of the worst seasons in franchise history, many fans are looking to the future. The future that doesn’t include current head coach Frank Reich.
So if David Tepper were to make a move after this season, is there any chance Steve Wilks would entertain a return to the Panthers? That’s the No. 1 question fans asked Locked On Panthers host Julian Council the most for this week’s mailbag episode.
“The situation 1-8 is not great, and it feels very likely — if things continue to head in this direction — that Frank Reich will not be back for a second season in Carolina,” Council said. “Maybe Frank Reich gets another opportunity and Scott Fitterer is the scapegoat instead, but right now it would not surprise me if the Carolina Panthers are out there searching for yet another head coach.”
NFL insider Dianna Russini reported Tuesday that there are concerns about Reich’s ability to develop rookie quarterback Bryce Young, saying the only way she expects Carolina’s staff to remain in place is with “significant improvement.” Even if Tepper does fire Reich, there are still some serious questions about the team’s roster and an overall lack of talent that’s holding Young back during his rookie season.
Knowing a change is possible, if not expected, some fans are curious if Tepper would try to rehire Steve Wilks, who finished last year 6-6 as the interim coach before Reich brought into the organization. Council believes that ship has sailed.
“For me, David Tepper, he blew his shot,” Council explained. “If you ever wanted Steve Wilks as full-time head coach, he should have done it back in January, but he decided that he didn’t want to do that. He wanted an offensive head coach, he wanted someone experienced and he went out there and got Frank Reich, and so far what he’s gotten in return is 1-8 and Steve Wilks is coaching up a pretty good defense there in San Francisco.”
It goes beyond just feeling slighted. Council said Wilks told someone close to him that he has questions about Tepper’s leadership as the owner and that he didn’t think Wilks would ever come back to work for Tepper.
“This is the same person that told me that Steve Wilks didn’t really feel that fondly about David Tepper even last year, when he was the interim and was winning some games,” Council said. “It doesn’t really look like Steve Wilks is that big of a Tepper fan in the first place when he was coaching here and now that he didn’t get the job, I just don’t see it happening now.”
Stranger things have happened, though. Like Cam Newton’s brief return a couple of years ago. Of course it ended badly, but for a moment there was some real energy around the Panthers.
“I’m not going to say it’s not going to happen,” Council said. “But I would give it a very low percentage that it happens. I just don’t see it happening. Maybe it does, but I do not think that’s a realistic possibility.”
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