The Carolina Panthers are heading into the offseason on a rough note.
Head coach Matt Rhule posted another five-win season and the team once again has questions at the quarterback position.
Sam Darnold is the default starter at the moment because of his fully guaranteed fifth-year option.
Rhule could not win with Teddy Bridgewater, Darnold, or Cam Newton.
The scapegoat in 2021 was former offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who was fired as the team started its decline.
Rhule survived this and has now hired a new offensive coordinator as he tries to save his own job.
From NFL Now: The #Panthers fill their OC vacancy, hiring Ben McAdoo to run their offense. pic.twitter.com/OjsXGNU1jY
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 21, 2022
Ben McAdoo will now step in trying to help turn the Panthers around.
If he fails, he may only last one season in town.
McAdoo is best known for his two-year stint as New York Giants head coach that saw him get fired following a 2-10 start in 2017.
His most notable move was benching Eli Manning in favor of Geno Smith.
McAdoo being back in the news has the entire NFL world reacting in a variety of ways.
This app has turned me into the Ben mcadoo apologist. He does not deserve the slander he is receiving on here right now. He is a fine offensive mind. Rhule is lucky mcadoo even wants to work on his staff
— David Tepper Hates Winning (@CreamPieEli) January 21, 2022
NFL World Reacts To The McAdoo News
The most popular reaction so far is to trash the hiring and poke fun at McAdoo.
Welp, just wrote up a rant about why the hire of Ben McAdoo will likely seal Matt Rhule's fate.
Expect it on @CatCraveBlog tomorrow.
— Jason Huber (@_JasonHuber) January 21, 2022
Ben McAdoo…. pic.twitter.com/wyOW1OTc6v
— Somewhere (@Neverpresent) January 21, 2022
The Panthers really hired Ben McAdoo. Lol. Not much effort put into the search I see. They did like no DD. I guess even the team don’t care anymore.
— JD™️ (@theQCJD) January 21, 2022
Yet others are quick to defend McAdoo.
He did lead the Giants to the playoffs in his first season at the helm after rising up the coaching ranks for years.
Playing devil's advocate here for the @Panthers hiring of Ben McAdoo. When he became OC for the Giants, he took their offense that was ranked 28th in 2013 to being ranked 13th in 2014 and 6th in 2015. #KeepPounding
— Piercingpersonality (@Pierceinperson) January 21, 2022
Ben McAdoo isn’t a bad coach… just because the #Giants and their media puppets bash him for (rightfully) benching Eli, doesn’t mean he’s bad
— LOBO (@DLO87) January 21, 2022
As you can guess, my feelings on the Panthers hiring Ben McAdoo are pretty complicated.
He's my generation's Ray Handley. He will *always* be the guy who threw my hero under the bus and benched him. But bygones are bygones and there is merit to him getting another OC job.
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) January 21, 2022
The key takeaway here is that the Panthers are in rough shape.
While other teams are focusing on making a splash with a new head coach, the Panthers’ big move is hiring McAdoo to lead the offense under Rhule.
Fans already saw the team tank Newton’s return and are told to be optimistic heading into 2022 with Darnold under center.
The Panthers wanted to have a physical presence to their offense, but needed to improve their passing game. They think Ben McAdoo can help with that given his background with the Packers and Giants.
— Steve Reed (@SteveReedAP) January 21, 2022
If the team does not make an upgrade at quarterback, some fans may be permanently broken.
NEXT: Matt Rhule Is Seeking Help To Save His Job
