Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich. Griffin Zetterberg-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Some Panthers players think team hired wrong head coach

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 2/2/23

According to a report from Pro Football Network's Adam Beasley, there are some Carolina Panthers players who privately feel that owner David Tepper made the wrong choice in hiring Frank Reich.

There are #Panthers players who privately think that David Tepper hired the wrong head coach in Frank Reich, according to @AdamHBeasley

"There’s a faction within the building that was rooting for interim coach Steve Wilks to get the job, and they were disappointed he did not." pic.twitter.com/jBbBzABbtX
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 2, 2023

Wilks was among the finalists for the gig, but the Panthers ultimately announced the hiring of Reich last week. Reich -- who spent 13 seasons as an NFL quarterback, including the 1995 inaugural Panthers season -- most recently served as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts beginning in 2018, before being fired following Week 9 of the 2022 campaign.

Wilks took over as the Panthers interim head coach after Matt Rhule was fired following a 1-4 start. Despite a mid-season fire sale that saw the organization trade Christian McCaffrey and Robbie Anderson among others, Wilks led Carolina to a 6-6 record to finish 7-10 and nearly make the playoffs.

"The product was much improved with Wilks in charge, a reflection that he knew the right buttons to push," Beasley wrote.

Though Wilks released a positive statement Friday after not being chosen for the permanent job, his attorneys released a statement after Reich's hiring saying they were "shocked and disturbed" with the decision and "there is a legitimate race problem in the NFL, and we can assure you that we will have more to say in the coming days." The same firms represent Wilks as a co-defendant in former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores' suit against the NFL over racial discrimination.

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