On Friday morning, just hours before Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule took the podium, a scathing exposé took to the Internet. And, boy, it may also have taken his soul.
The new report from Joseph Person of The Athletic detailed numerous red flags about Rhule’s leadership, or lack thereof, atop the organization. Those alarming signs include a perception around the league that the team is “soft,” resentment towards a clear favoritism for guys Rhule coached at Baylor and Temple and an instance where Rhule told players he could’ve taken a higher-paying job back in the college ranks rather than staying in Carolina.
Right off the bat, Carolina Blitz’s Sheena Quick gave Rhule a chance to address the story. But, as you would expect, he didn’t have a whole lot to elaborate on.
“No, I’ve never noticed anything,” Rhule said when asked if there was a disconnect between he and the locker room. “I’ve never had anyone say anything to me. It’s hard for me to comment on anonymous sources like that. I think we have a good locker room full of guys working hard from all different places. So I’ve never seen anything.”
Well, Rhule has definitely seen the tide turn on him on what’s been an embarrassingly awful campaign. Headlined primarily by his continuous bungling of the team’s quarterback position, the second-year head coach has driven the Panthers to a 10-21 mark over his first pair of seasons.
Quick then brought up Rhule’s reported mention of being offered those collegiate opportunities, to which he again did not buy into.
“Again, I’m not gonna comment on anything someone anonymously said, something to somebody. That’s just not my way of doing things.”
His way of doing things, unfortunately, hasn’t done much for either him or this struggling franchise. And with five straight losses and only two wins over the team’s past 12 games, there may not be much left for Rhule to do in this destructive rebuild.
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