The Carolina Panthers have had a truly unpredictable season to this point.
First came the 3-0 start with Sam Darnold at quarterback.
Jump ahead to the present and the team is 5-7 with Cam Newton as the starting quarterback.
Oh, and Christian McCaffrey is out for the season.
The Panthers are currently in their bye week and decided to make a major change on their coaching staff.
The #Panthers have fired OC Joe Brady.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 5, 2021
Offensive coordinator Joe Brady has been fired and is now officially the fall guy for some questionable decisions with the Carolina offense.
Brady Takes The Fall
Last week featured a horrific performance by the Panthers offense.
Newton went 5/21 for 92 yards and two interceptions before being benched in the fourth quarter.
McCaffrey only had 35 yards on 10 carries before leaving with what ended up being a season-ending injury.
Should Newton’s struggles fall upon the shoulders of Brady?
That seems a bit unfair considering the Panthers just signed Newton a few weeks ago when he was previously sitting at home.
It’s not Brady’s fault that the veteran could not complete a pass.
What this firing seems to be is a panic move by head coach Matt Rhule and the Panthers front office.
Rhule is the one who initially moved on from Newton, only to place faith in Darnold and Teddy Bridgewater.
Brady did not have a star signal-caller to work with and did not have a say in the starting option either.
Joe Brady eating this instead of whoever hand-picked Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Darnold and Cam Newton to be the team's starting quarterbacks in like an 18-month stretch is kinda wild https://t.co/yDC8ADCyER
— Justis Mosqueda (NFL Owner) (@JuMosq) December 5, 2021
But it is also fair to point out Brady’s entire reputation is based upon Joe Burrow lighting it up at LSU in 2019.
Brady is only 32 years old and at the start of his coaching career.
Him getting fired may actually turn out to be a good thing for him personally with all the openings in the college game.
As for Rhule, he is hoping this change results in some wins and prevents his own firing next month.
NEXT: 3 Reasons Panthers Fans Should Be Panicking
