Carolina Panthers fire head coach Frank Reich - ESPN

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper fired coach Frank Reich on Monday, less than 24 hours after the owner left the locker room muttering an expletive following Sunday's 17-10 loss to the Tennessee Titans in Nashville.

Reich's tenure at Carolina ended with an NFL-worst 1-10 record — including an 0-6 mark on the road. He also becomes the first NFL head coach since the 1970 merger to be fired in back-to-back seasons after last year's dismissal from the Indianapolis Colts.

«I met with Coach Reich this morning and informed him that he will not continue as head coach of the Carolina Panthers,» Tepper said in a statement. «I want to thank Frank for his dedication and service, and we wish him well.»

Special teams coach Chris Tabor has been appointed as interim head coach, while offensive coordinator Thomas Brown will assume playcalling duties with help from senior assistant Jim Caldwell.

Tepper has scheduled a news conference for 10:30 a.m. ET Tuesday. There will be no team availability Monday.

According to ESPN Stats & Information research, there have only been six NFL head coaches since the merger who didn't finish their first season with their team, with three of those instances having come in the past three seasons: Urban Meyer (Jaguars), Nathaniel Hackett (Broncos) and Reich.

Reich was fired after the offense produced 15 or fewer points for the fifth straight week and seventh time in 11 games.

The offense produced only 10 points in each of the past two games after Reich reclaimed the playcalling duties from Brown only three games after turning them over to him.

«What are you going to do?'' Reich, who has a career record of 41-43-1, said after Sunday's loss to the Titans. „You are 1-10. Are you going to