New Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich said Tuesday that he will begin the season calling the offensive plays but will hand off the responsibilities at some point during the 2023 season.
Reich deferred on making that decision when asked about it during his introductory press conference Jan. 31. At the time, he said he wanted to wait until he filled out his coaching staff.
Now that Reich has a working staff – an exceptionally large and talented one – in place, including offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, he has a plan.
“The right thing for me to do for our team and for our offense right now is for me to continue to kind of use my experience” to call plays early on, Reich said. “There is going to be some point that I’m going to pass it off.”
When pressed on exactly when, Reich said he wasn’t sure but that it “will become apparent” when to turn over play-calling duties to Brown, adding that it won’t be easy.
Brown was the tight ends coach under Rams coach Sean McVay.
Reich reportedly has 19 coaches in place and could end up with 24-30 when he’s done. The Panthers are on pace to have the largest staff in the NFL. The latest: George Li has been hired as a game management coach, Reich said Tuesday.
Reich also said the Panthers will switch to a base 3-4 defense under new defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who used a 3-4 in Denver.
“It’ll be a base 3-4 scheme,” Reich said. “But when we get in sub, it’s really multiple. There’s four-down, three-down, five-down. It’ll all depend on how Ejiro and the defensive staff wanna take advantage of our players’ strengths. We’ll be very multiple.”
Reich was also asked if the Panthers plan to bring in free agent quarterback Derek Carr.
“Interesting question,” Reich said. “We’re really literally sitting down with the guys today. First staff meeting will be tomorrow. But I’ve kind of met with guys individually saying, ‘Here’s what we’re doing. Step 1, let’s evaluate our roster.’ So, we’re really just starting that process. So, Step 2, evaluate the free agents. Everybody’s got their list. Step 3, now we’re going to the college guys.
“So, that process has literally (just) begun, so really not ready to discuss the specifics of that.”
The Panthers churned through three starting QBs in 2022 — Baker Mayfield was released in December after a 1-5 campaign, Sam Darnold (4-2) is set to become an unrestricted free agent in March and P.J. Walker (2-3) will be a restricted free agent.
Carr, an immediate free agent once the Las Vegas Raiders released him from his contract last week, has met with the New Orleans Saints and New York Jets so far.
–Field Level Media
