Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule comments on firing of OC Joe Brady

Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule has made his first public comments after firing offensive coordinator Joe Brady on Sunday.

According to Rhule, he said he planned to meet with Brady – the former LSU passing game coordinator who coached standout quarterback Joe Burrow – on Saturday, but the coach wasn’t available. Rhule said Brady was a “great young coach” and “consummate professional.”

Brady was hired by the Panthers and Rhule back in January 2020, and Rhule spoke Monday about the decision to hire the college coach.

“I decided to be bold, and step outside my comfort zone,” Rhule said, but he also noted that he doesn’t view the hire as a mistake.

Carolina Panthers make change to offensive coaching staff

The Carolina Panthers have fired offensive coordinator Joe Brady, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Pelissero also reports that Panthers senior offensive assistant Jeff Nixon will lead the Panthers offense for the remainder of the season.

Brady was hired by the Panthers in January of 2020 after he spent a year on LSU’s coaching staff as the Tigers’ passing game coordinator. He earned the Broyles Award in 2019, given to college football’s top assistant coach. That season, LSU went undefeated and had one of the best offenses in the history of college football on its way to a national championship.

Brady’s offense with the Panthers has struggled this season. Carolina ranks bottom five with 308.7 yards per game, 197.4 passing yards per game, and in the bottom half of the NFL with 19.7 points per game.

The Panthers started strong, but once quarterback Sam Darnold began to struggle, it all went downhill. Carolina is 5-7 on the season and coming off of a 33-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

Brady’s offense with the Panthers has changed multiple times this season

The Panthers look significantly different right now than they did at the season’s start. Sam Darnold is now out with an injury, and former Panthers star Cam Newton is back as the team’s starting quarterback. Newton played well in his debut, playing sparingly in a win over the Arizona Cardinals. But in the two games that Newton has started, the offense has struggled and the Panthers are 0-2.

Darnold has thrown for 1,986 yards, seven touchdowns and seven interceptions to go along with 185 rushing yards and five scores on the ground. In three games since returning to the team, Newton has thrown for 289 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions with 65 yards and three scores on the ground.

While injuries can be partly to blame for the Panthers’ offensive struggles, the team has opted to move on from Brady. Star running back Christian McCaffrey has battled multiple injuries and is now out for the rest of the year. In seven games, he has 442 rushing yards and one touchdown along with 37 receptions for 343 yards and a touchdown.

On3’s Jonathan Wagner contributed to this report.