Now that Black Monday has come and gone, there are officially five NFL head coaching opportunities available. With Arizona, Carolina, Denver, Houston, and Indianapolis all looking for new head coaches, there have been a ton of news and rumors surrounding the openings. Here is the updated list of each NFL coach hired during the 2023 cycle.
NFL Head Coaches Hired in 2023
Frank Reich Makes His NFL Return in Carolina
The first new head coach hired in the 2023 cycle was Frank Reich. Reich was named the new head coach of the Carolina Panthers. Although the team was linked to a number of candidates, including Jim Harbaugh, Jim Caldwell, Ken Dorsey, and more, ultimately, they decided to bring in the known commodity, which is Reich.
Reich, who actually played the quarterback position for Carolina back in 1995 (the franchise’s first year of existence), will be replacing Matt Rhule, who was fired early on in the 2022 NFL season.
MORE: List of NFL Head Coaches Fired in 2023
After his 14-year playing career, Reich moved into coaching, with his first role being with the Colts in 2006. He worked his way up and broke into relevancy as the offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles when the franchise won its first Super Bowl in 2017. After that success, he became the Colts’ head coach for five seasons, putting together a 40-33 overall record.
Reich also led the Colts to two postseason appearances. Much of his success was thanks to the resurgence of veteran QB like Philip Rivers. Rivers came into Indy on a one-year deal shortly after the surprise retirement of Andrew Luck, reaching the playoffs after going 11-5.
The Panthers, who finished 7-10 on the season, have a ton of questions that will need to be answered. The most glaring of which will be the QB position. The team had a carousel of QBs this year, with guys like Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, and Phillip Walker getting opportunities as the starter. And although Darnold made a strong case near the end of the year to stick around, it is unlikely the team will head into the 2023 season with him as QB1.
Will Reich continue to try and bring in more veteran signal-callers to lead this young Carolina team? Or will they look to draft their next franchise quarterback in 2023?
