Today at noon, the Carolina Panthers introduced Frank Reich, as the sixth head coach in team history. Reich comes back to the Carolinas after serving as the Indianapolis Colts for four and half seasons, before being relieved of his duties midway through this past season. Reich was 40-33-1, with two playoff appearances during his time as the head man for the Colts. Prior to being named head coach, Reich served as an offensive coordinator for two years for both the Chargers and the Eagles. Reich was the offensive coordinator for the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles in 2017.
Prior to becoming a coach, Reich had a thirteen year playing career, where he primarily served as backup QB, most notably for Jim Kelly in Buffalo. Reich led the biggest playoff comeback in NFL history, leading the Bills back from a 35-3 deficit to defeat the Houston Oilers in overtime, back in 1993. Reich came to Carolina for the first time in the team’s expansion season, 1995, where he was expected to serve as the team’s starting QB, but following the selection of Kerry Collins in the first round, Reich would only play three games before handing the reins over to the rookie. Reich would play parts of three more seasons for the Jets and Lions, before calling it a career.
At today’s press conference, the announcement began with a video recapping Frank Reich’s time in Carolina and his time around the league. Panthers play-by-play broadcaster, Anish Shroff served as the day’s emcee and welcomes several members of the organization, both past and present, before bringing the Panthers owner, David Tepper to the stage to introduce Coach Reich for the first time.
Coach Reich began his press conference thankful for his new opportunity. The entire press conference was streamed by the Panthers organization. Some highlights:
Coach Reich did not hesitate to acknowledge that Championships are the goal:
Coach Reich say there are four pillars for any team to win:
Coach Reich explained his pillars to Panther players in attendance:
GM Scott Fitterer will have roster control:
Sounds like Coach Reich may call the offensive plays:
David Tepper acknowledgs he mad a mistake with his previous hire:
