Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich has treated his play-calling duties like his own baby. But on Monday, he officially handed that baby over.
On the receiving end is offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, who is in his first year at the position. Reich spoke about his decision to relinquish the reins to the up-and-coming assistant.
“Obviously, you saw reports out that I’m turning the play-calling duties over to Thomas Brown,” he said during his press conference on Monday. “Those reports are accurate. It’s all been part of the plan—something Thomas and I have discussed from the time that he was hired. I’m excited for Thomas, I’m excited for our team and our offense. Thomas is a stud. He’s a great leader. He’s a brilliant offensive mind. We all have a lot of confidence in him. And I think the timing is right.
Reich was then asked why he thought that timing is right.
“Just think with the bye, you get two weeks where it’s a little bit of a—hey, let’s regroup,” he replied. “We do all this self-scout right now. We have a good week of self-scout where we can see what our tendencies are, see what we wanna do to tweak things. And now, I’m kinda adding that into the mix—I think is a good thing.”
Carolina’s offense has been anything but a good thing. They currently rank 23rd in total offense, passing offense and rushing offense and 18th in scoring.
After yesterday’s 42-21 defeat at the hands of the Miami Dolphins, the Panthers have started the 2023 campaign with six straight losses. So hopefully for Reich, Brown and the offense, the 37-year-old can breathe some new life into the squad.
