After LSU won the 2019 national championship, offensive coordinator Joe Brady was one of the hottest names in coaching, getting buzz as a potential future head coach at both the college and NFL levels. When Matt Rhule left Baylor for the Carolina Panthers that summer, he brought Brady with him to be his offensive coordinator in hopes of creating a high-powered offense in Charlotte.
Through a season-plus, that hasn’t come to fruition, and while there’s plenty of reason to think that’s in part due to personnel and a less than stellar quarterback room in his two seasons, the wunderkind hasn’t schemed it up to the level of success Carolina hoped for. On Sunday, the Panthers, who are on their bye week, decided right after kickoff in the 1 p.m. window was a great time to make an announcement that they had fired Brady and would be making an OC change during their bye.
“I met with Joe this morning and informed him that I have decided to make a change,” said Matt Rhule in a statement. “I’m very grateful to him for his time and effort in helping us get established over this past year and a half.”
The timing is fascinating, but it might’ve been at the request of Brady that, if a change was going to get made no matter what, they do so now so he can get his name in the mix for some of the high profile positions open at the college level currently. A return to Baton Rouge is certainly in play, as Brian Kelly was unable to get Tommy Rees to join him in leaving Notre Dame and needs a coordinator, while other major OC jobs could be in play like Oklahoma — which is expected to hire Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables as head coach.
