This is it for Matt Rhule. He has to have a winning season to keep his job. I would say anything less than 9 wins will cost him his job. Missing the playoffs I would assume will cost him his job as well. I believe in Rhule and he will still be in Carolina next year.
Matt Rhule has proven success before coaching the Panthers while coaching at Temple and Baylor. In both of his tenures he turned the programs around in the third season. Temple in his third season got ranked nationally for the first time since 1979 in 2015 with a 10-4 record. Baylor in his third season got them to their first ever BIG 12 Championship game and finished with a 11-3 record. If there is a coach that can turn it around in their third season it is Matt Rhule.
He is going to go all out for this season. The trades so far show it. A Matt Rhule with a more competent QB, in his third season, and a very winnable schedule is a recipe for minimum seven wins. This team got better in the offseason, not worse and that means two more wins than last year.
I believe in Matt Rhule but let’s go over worst case scenarios. I could see a world where the Panthers are 4-8 at the bye and we need 3 more wins. Rhule fighting for his job and reputation won’t quit on this team. With PIT, SEA, DET, TB, and NO left after the bye we still have a great shot at hitting. Even if Rhule is fired mid season I strongly believe an interim head coach could pull out some wins late in the season as well against those teams. These worst case scenarios are very doable roads to 7 if they even end up happening.
This is why I love Matt Rhule, “As I tell our team all the time, it took Jay-Z like seven years. He had to start his own agency to become famous, to become an overnight sensation. It takes time.” You can always trust someone who quotes Jay-Z and that’s a fact. Even if it makes no sense because Matt Rhule isn’t creating and owning an NFL franchise. You still have to love it. Or I guess he could have been hinting at a seven year contract extension. Who knows. But what I do know is that I would rather have a coach who quotes Jay-Z than one that does not. We just have to pray that during the season Matt Rhule isn’t quoting Jay-Z “I look in the mirror, my only opponent,” and I don’t think he will be.
