It’s not secret that many in the Charlotte area are not happy with Matt Rhule and the Carolina Panthers right now. After racing out to a 3-0 start to begin the season, the team has now lost five of the last six and the offense has quickly turned into one of the worst in the entire league.
Sam Darnold, who provided some hope out of the gate in those first three games, has fallen apart during this losing streak and has been one of the biggest issues for an offense that has scored just one touchdown in the last three games. Many fans were calling for Darnold to hit the bench starting with this weekend’s game in Arizona and, as announced on Tuesday, that will be the case. Darnold is expected to miss ‘several weeks’ according to Ian Rapaport of the NFL Network with a fractured scapula in the right shoulder, meaning that this backup quarterback P.J. Walker, who has started one game in his NFL career, will likely have to hold down the starting job at least until Darnold’s return from the injury.
With the struggles that this team was already having, Matt Rhule’s job has been made even tougher as he tries to get this season back on the rails. The question now has to be, how important is it for his future with the team that he does get this turned around? As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk told the Mac Attack on Wednesday morning, David Tepper’s quick trigger may make it more important than you realize. “With David Tepper, you never know. Look at how he is ripping through quarterbacks. So I could see that attitude being directed to the coach. He has shown as it relates to quarterbacks that he is not patient so why would we think he’s going to be patient with everyone else.
The best way to silence these thoughts is by turning this season around and the first opportunity comes this Sunday on the road against the Arizona Cardinals at 4:05 PM. Countdown to Kickoff presented by DeWalt will be on air two hours prior to the game as Chris McClain, Brett Jensen and Nick Carboni get you ready with everything you need to know right here on WFNZ.
Mike Florio: With David Tepper’s Mindset, Matt Rhule’s Seat May Be Warming was originally published on wfnz.com
