The Carolina Panthers have fired head coach Frank Reich after a 1-10 start to the 2023 season. The team announced the decision on Monday.

The team has been outscored by an average of 14.3 points per game and has lost their last nine games.

Reich was hired by the Panthers in January 2023, replacing Matt Rhule, who was fired after three miserable seasons. Reich had previously served as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2018 to 2021.

In the NFL, underperforming white coaches fail upward

Prior to being hired by Carolina, Reich was fired by the Colts after the team started the 2021 season 1-7.

Reich is the third head coach to be fired by Panthers owner David Tepper since 2019.

Like most NFL teams, it seems the Carolina Panthers would rather lose with their own than win with one of ours. Last year, after a putrid performance under then-head coach Matt Rhule, Charlotte native and longtime coach Steve Wilks was assigned to take over.

Frank Reich fired after Panthers fans wanted Wilks

After taking over the 2022 season, many Charlotteans advocated for Wilks to permanently take over the head coaching role.

Wilks embraced the challenge at the time and ended the season with a 6-6 coaching record. The achievement was made even more impressive by the amount of lackluster talent available on the roster.

While Black coaches like Steve Wilks and the Las Vegas Raiders interim coach Antonio Pierce are often only thrust into positions of power to clean up messy franchises, white NFL owners continue to select mediocre-at-best white coaches to lead their teams after the dust has settled. They do this without any past, present, or future indicators of success.

The last time football fans heard of Steve Wilks was earlier this season as the San Francisco 49ers hit a midseason rough patch.

Wilks, now defensive coordinator, had been demoted to the sideline to monitor and advise his defense three weeks ago.

Nepotism, racism, and favoritism are how NFL coaches are hired

The decision to demote Wilks was made by 49ers head coach, Kyle Shanahan, whose father, Mike, coached before him.

While Shanahan is routinely praised for his offensive play-calling, he also called played which led his 2016 Atlanta Falcons to the largest Super Bowl comeback defeat in the sport’s history.

Despite the bittersweet coaching résumé, Shanahan was handed an undeserved opportunity much like Reich.

The Panthers will now begin their search for a new head coach. They are expected to interview several candidates in the coming weeks.

It will be their fourth coach in four years.