The Carolina Panthers (5-7), have fired offensive coordinator Joe Brady with just five games left in the season, the team announced Sunday.
Panthers coach Matt Rhule stated that he met with Brady on Sunday morning and “informed him that I have decided to make a change.” “I’m very grateful to him for his time and effort in helping us get established over this past year and a half,” Rhule said.
Senior offensive assistant Jeff Nixon will take over the offensive coordinator duties with the other offensive coaching staff for the rest of the season.
Brady joined the Panthers to start the 2020 season, coming from LSU to the NFL. He helped the Tigers offense, led by quarterback Joe Borrow, in the team’s 2019 national championship run. Brady was the youngest coordinator in the NFL, 30, when he joined Carolina. Before working at LSU, he worked for two seasons as an offensive assistant under Sean Payton with the New Orleans Saints.
With signal caller Teddy Bridgewater and All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey injured for most of last season, the Panthers trotted out an offense that ranked 21st in yardage and 24th in points per game as they finished 5-11 in Brady’s first season in Charlotte.
The Panthers struggled once again on the offensive side of the football in 2021, after trading for quarterback Sam Darnold during the offseason. Darnold is currently on IR with a shoulder injury. McCaffrey has been sidelined the majority of this season and was recently placed on season-ending IR with an ankle injury.
Through the first 12 weeks of the season, the Panthers, who are on their bye week, rank near the bottom of the NFL, 28th, with 308.7 yards and 23rd with 19.7 points per game in a 5-7 start.
In October, Rhule gave Brady a vote of confidence, saying he was committed to him, but wanted him to put more emphasis on the teams running attack. Brady never seemed to be all in on the running game to the level Rhule wanted, at least 30 attempts per game.
In Week 10, the Panthers made a change in quarterback, signing veteran Cam Newton, but they lost to the Washington Football Team, 27-21. The offense took another step in the wrong direction last week in a 33-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins, that saw Newton complete an anemic 5-of-21 passes for 92 yards with two interception.
