Panthers fire Matt Rhule, name Steve Wilks interim head coach

The Matt Rhule era in Carolina is over.

The Panthers parted ways with Rhule this morning, after an ugly loss to the 49ers dropped them to 1-4 this season and 11-27 in Rhule’s two and a half years as the Panthers’ head coach.

Rhule arrived in Carolina with a good reputation as a college head coach from his stints at Temple and Baylor, but he never managed to turn the Panthers around. If anything, they may be a worse team now than they were when he arrived.

The Panthers also announced that Steve Wilks, whose current title is defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach, will take over as interim head coach. This will be Wilks’ second opportunity to be a head coach, having previously coached the Cardinals for one season.

Rhule’s name will immediately surface as a candidate for several college jobs, but his days as an NFL head coach are done.