The shift in how the Carolina Panthers have operated since the firing of Matt Rhule has been painfully apparent—to everyone watching.
There is a noticeable sense of energy across the entire team, there is a greater amount of effort on both sides of the ball and—perhaps most importantly—there is more accountability and genuine leadership under interim head coach Steve Wilks. Unlike the previous rule, Wilks has put together a completely different set of standards and urgency into the building—and it was something that has been noticeably missing from this franchise for the better part of the last three years.
And that’s been amplified, not only by how Panthers players have reacted to the change, but even more so by Rhule’s recent comments. A common trend with Rhule was a lack of self-accountability—and that has continued into his numerous interviews over the past few days.
On Tuesday’s episode of The Season with Peter Schrager, the University of Nebraska’s newest head coach was asked what he learned from his three seasons in Carolina. He promptly blamed the failed tenure on a bad fit.
“I think I probably would just, probably just—ya know—probably taken another job,” he said. “It’s a great place. Wonderful people. But I just don’t know if I was a fit there. At the end of the day—we talked about, ‘Hey, we’re gonna have a four-year plan, a five-year plan.’ If you tell me, ‘Hey, we got a two-year plan,’ then I’ma go sign a bunch of free agents and do it. So what was a four-year plan became a two-year and five-game plan real quick.”
Later that day, he joined The Rich Eisen Show—reflecting on and deflecting some decisions at the quarterback position. This is what he said when host Rich Eisen asked if he regrets not spending a higher draft pick on a passer:
“No,” he replied. “‘Cause there was really no one—ah, I shouldn’t say that, Justin Fields is playing really well and Mac Jones is someone that I have a lot of respect for. Sometimes articles come out after you get fired that go, ‘Hey, why didn’t you guys get Justin Herbert?’ Well, ya know, because he got drafted in front of us. And, ya know, I wasn’t the GM. I didn’t make the picks. I had a lot of input. I worked with two great guys in Marty Hurney and Scott Fitterer.”
This all shows that trend of shifting blame—something we even saw with players such as Cam Newton in 2021.
As a head coach, you must step up to the plate and accept the natural criticism that comes with the territory—not place it on others that weren’t necessarily in the wrong. Accepting blame instead of placing it is what great leaders do. They create a locker room of trust, confidence and that all-important accountability.
At the end of the day, Rhule’s style never really stuck on at the pro level. So, maybe we can all agree that he should’ve taken another job.
