Frank Reich addresses being fired by Panthers

Frank Reich insists he has "no hard feelings" for Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper after Tepper dismissed Reich Monday with the club at 1-10.

"There’s a heart-pounding disappointment in not hitting the marks that we needed to hit to keep this going and try to get it turned around," Reich told Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer. "It hurts me for the guys, the team, the coaches and the fans." 

Reich served as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2018 until he was fired last November. He accumulated a 40-33-1 regular-season record with that organization. Carolina hired Reich this past winter, and he reportedly played a significant role in the club drafting quarterback Bryce Young first overall instead of C.J. Stroud.

Stroud, the starter for the Houston Texans, is the heavy favorite to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award and may have an outside chance of earning some Most Valuable Player votes. Meanwhile, ESPN stats show Young is ranked 29th out of 30 qualified players with a 32.0 adjusted QBR on the season. 

"I want to convey that I have nothing but positive thoughts about Mr. Tepper," Reich told Fowler. "On a personal level, I saw a side of him that I deeply respect and care about. But the NFL is a meritocracy. It’s not unconditional love. I understand from a professional standpoint Mr. Tepper is going to have certain standards that he expects to have met. I have no hard feelings, and my personal relationship with him was actually a real highlight of this short time." 

Per David Newton of ESPN, Tepper named special teams coach Chris Tabor the club's interim head coach. Tabor decided to fired assistant head coach/running backs coach Duce Staley and quarterbacks coach Josh McCown on Monday. 

The Panthers play at the 4-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday. 

Reich said roughly one year ago his desire at that time was "to be a head coach" again. The first starting quarterback in Carolina franchise history sang somewhat of a different tune ahead of his 62nd birthday, which he'll celebrate on Dec. 4. 

"This is probably the final chapter of my NFL journey," Reich acknowledged.