Frank Reich bringing Panthers connection, ‘championship habits’ as new head coach

Greg Auman

NFC South Reporter

Frank Reich, synonymous with two of the biggest comebacks in football history, is back with the Carolina Panthers, and the quarterback who threw the franchise’s first touchdown pass in 1995 was introduced Tuesday as their new head coach.

“This is the NFL. The difference between winning and losing is really small,” the 61-year-old Reich said. “Every year, we see teams go from big-time losing to big-time winning, even competing for championships, all in the space of one year. It’s possible. How does that happen? How do you turn things around? The reason we see these things happens is because what we already instinctively know, that the difference between winning and losing, it’s in the margins. It’s in the details. It’s one player at a time, one play at a time, one detail at a time. It’s about focusing on getting it right.”

Reich takes over a Carolina team that has endured five straight losing seasons, including a surprisingly resilient 7-10 mark in 2022. The Panthers haven’t won a playoff game since 2016 — only six NFL teams have gone longer without one. But last year’s team opened the year 2-7 and finished 5-3, just missing an unlikely shot at a division title. So his initial message was one of optimism, that winning isn’t far away at all.

“We commit to you and we promise to you: We will dive all in,” Reich said. “This is about football, and this is about winning. That’s why I was hired. But it’s also about doing it the right way, and being part of something special.”

Reich’s first stint as a head coach saw him go 40-33-1 in five years with the Colts, making the playoffs twice but getting fired at midseason this past November after a 3-5-1 start in Indianapolis. He’s not far removed from a championship, having served as the Eagles‘ offensive coordinator in their Super Bowl season in 2017.

“He’s a man of incredible integrity, an incredible family man, a person we could tell has great process and a great way of doing things,” Panthers owner David Tepper said in introducing him Tuesday. “(He’s) a guy that basically checks all the boxes and a guy you really want to help build a culture and help lead a team, hopefully for the next few years and beyond.”

Reich was Carolina’s first quarterback when the franchise debuted in 1995, throwing a touchdown on the first drive in team history to tight end Pete Metzelaars. The Panthers would lose to the Falcons in overtime that day, and Reich would go 0-3 as starter before being replaced by rookie Kerry Collins, a short stint typical of a career where he started 20 games in 14 NFL seasons.

“As a career backup quarterback, I don’t have too many highlights, but to have the first touchdown pass in a team’s history is pretty special,” he said. “I’ll never forget that first game.”

Reich said the “secret sauce” of success is having a dominating defense, aspiring to have a top-five unit — the Panthers ranked 19th in points allowed last season, and 22nd in yards allowed. Carolina’s top quarterbacks are all free agents, so the Panthers will likely have a new starting quarterback this fall, whether using the No. 9 overall pick in the draft on a rookie passer or in signing a veteran in free agency. The Panthers prided themselves on a strong running game, and they’ll need to re-sign running back D’Onta Foreman as the leading rusher after the team traded away Pro Bowl back Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers.

With Tom Brady’s future in Tampa Bay uncertain, the NFC South is very much up for grabs, a year after the Bucs won the division with an 8-9 record. The Falcons have substantially more space under the salary cap and the No. 8 pick in the draft, and one win separated first and last in the final standings.

Reich is perhaps best known for pulling off wild comebacks as a player, rallying Maryland from a 31-0 halftime deficit to beat Miami in 1984, and in rallying the Bills from a 35-3 deficit to beat the Oilers in the 1992 playoffs. Winning with Carolina won’t be nearly as difficult to pull off, and he pointed to a quote he’s had on his desk since he was an NFL rookie in 1985: “No man becomes suddenly different from his habits and cherished thoughts.”

Panthers tab Reich as next head coach

Colin Cowherd reacts to the news of the Panthers hiring former Colts head coach Frank Reich for the same role.

“We’re going to be a team and an organization that is about creating championship habits,” Reich said. “Championship thoughts, we’re going to cultivate those. We’re going to nurture those. Those are going to grow and be infectious and we want to feel that in the community.”

Greg Auman is FOX Sports’ NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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