The Carolina Panthers have a David Tepper problem. But the embattled organization can’t fire its owner, instead, they’re left with the ramifications of firing yet another head coach. On Monday, Tepper announced that Frank Reich had been relieved of his duties just 11 games into his tenure. Reich was hired to replace Matt Rhule, who was fired in-season in 2022 after compiling an 11-27 record.
Tepper has now fired three head coaches — Reich, Rhule and Ron Rivera — and has had to name three interims — Chris Tabor, Steve Wilks and Perry Fewell. So, by the time January rolls around, the 66-year-old owner of the NFC South franchise will be looking to hire his seventh head coach since 2018.
Now, you may be asking yourself why anyone would have an interest in this job, especially with a meddling, impatient owner. Well, it’s 1 of 32 jobs — and Tepper fired Rhule and Reich, who both had $40 and $30 million remaining on their contracts, respectively.
So, it may not come as a surprise that those around the league would be interested in the job, but there’s a certain wild-card name that might throw many for a loop. According to The Athletic, former Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen would be interested in the team’s head coaching vacancy, if he were approached.
Ex-Carolina tight end Greg Olsen, the color analyst on Fox’s No. 1 NFL crew, would be interested in the Panthers’ vacancy if he were approached, according to sources close to Olsen who were granted anonymity so they could speak freely.
NEWS: Ex-Carolina tight end Greg Olsen, the color analyst on Fox’s No. 1 NFL crew, would be interested in the Panthers’ vacancy if he were approached, according to sources.@josephperson and @richarddeitsch have more details ⤵️
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) November 27, 2023
After going the retread head coach route (Reich) after the failed college coach route (Rhule), could Tepper be considering a candidate similar to Jeff Saturday, who transitioned from the media to be the interim head coach of the Indianapolis Colts? However, Saturday, unlike Olsen, did not have experience as a color analyst on a No. 1 NFL broadcasting team before becoming head coach, which is the key caveat here. Though, ironically enough, Saturday is the one who replaced Reich in the interim. That designation doesn’t belong to Olsen, but rather to Chris Tabor.
Per The Athletic, Olsen’s coaching experience is limited to coaching his son’s Pop Warner team. Though, he has been immersed in the league since making the transition to the broadcast booth, after retiring from the game following the 2020 NFL season.
Olsen, as of September, had not yet heard from Fox about the network’s plans for 2024. While he and his partner Kevin Burkhardt have and will continue to work together as Fox’s No. 1 announcing duo for the 2023 NFL season, it’s unclear if Olsen will stay on as the top analyst in the Fox booth for much longer.
That’s because Fox and Tom Brady agreed to a $375 million contract in 2022 to be the network’s top analyst after he retires. There has been a lot of skepticism surrounding whether Brady will ever join Fox in a full-time broadcasting role. Pushing his Fox debut off until 2024 didn’t do much to quiet the skepticism, but on the season premiere of his Let’s Go podcast for SiriusXM, Brady reiterated that Fox remains in his plans.
Olsen taking a head coaching job is certainly one way to clear the path for Brady.
It remains to be seen if Olsen will ultimately throw his hat in the ring, and in turn, receive an interview from Tepper and Co. While Olsen’s lack of head coaching experience would certainly make him a risky hire, Tepper may be open to just about any ideas at this point after going the “safe” route with Reich.
