Frank Reich may be new to the Carolina Panthers—at least as a head coach—but this isn’t his first rodeo. So, unlike his rookie quarterback Bryce Young, there’s a little precedent to work with when it comes to league-wide comparisons.
And that precedent was used by Ross Tucker in his recent rankings of the NFL’s 32 head coaches. Tucker slots Reich, off his previous run for the Indianapolis Colts, in at No. 24.
His analysis for The 33rd Team reads:
Reich is a solid NFL coach, and I’m happy he gets a second chance with the Carolina Panthers after Jim Irsay reportedly forced him to bench Matt Ryan in favor of Sam Ehlinger even though the Indianapolis Colts were still in the race in the AFC North. The late-season collapse in 2021 is a bigger concern than anything that happened in 2022.
That late-season collapse saw the Colts drop right out of a potential wild card berth after losses in their final two games. Had they held on, Reich would’ve led the franchise to three playoff appearances over his first four seasons for Indy.
Nonetheless, that’s all history. Reich closed up shop at 40-33-1 there and landed back on his feet just a few months later.
Now, he’s back in Carolina hoping to make a bit of his own with his old team and a new quarterback—one who, hopefully, provides more stability than what he got in his last stop.
