Rhule Ready for Close Losses to Become Close Wins, but There's No Shortcut
Year one for Matt Rhule as the head coach of the Carolina Panthers has been pretty on script for what many expected. The team has a 4-10 record and is clearly in position for a top-five pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
If you have followed the history of Matt Rhule, you will know that he typically doesn't walk into the greatest of coaching jobs. Both Temple and Baylor were in a very bad spot when he took over for different reasons. The Owls just struggled to win games and had a difficult time just being competitive. As for Baylor, well, they needed to bring in someone who could change the narrative of the program after the sexual assault scandal that took place just a few years prior. The Bears were on a scholarship restriction and went from being one of the top teams in the Big 12 to one of the worst and a dull future. Rhule came in and built a winning culture and reshaped the outlook on the program.
That's what he's now trying to do here in Carolina - reshape the outlook on the franchise. When the team fired Ron Rivera, everyone saw a rebuild coming. Luke Kuechly retires, Cam Newton and Greg Olsen are released and the rebuild was underway. The narrative now about this Panthers organization is that there is a lot that needs to be done in order for them to get back to their winning ways and there is some uncertainty within the fanbase as to whether or not Rhule is the right guy for the job.
If you look at everything he has accomplished this season with this group, you can tell he's the right guy. Has he made some mistakes? Sure, what rookie NFL head coach doesn't? But his guys are bought into his vision and play hard for him week in and week out. Despite the 4-10 record, the Panthers have shown to be competitive no matter the opponent, even the Super Bowl defending champs, Kansas City. Eight of the Panthers' 10 losses this season have been by one score. For Rhule to take over a team that is short on depth and experience, yet be that competitive on a weekly basis is honestly impressive. Especially when you look at all the injuries Carolina has had this year, particularly to Christian McCaffrey.
Earlier this week, Rhule talked to the media about the process of getting this thing turned around and came up with a great analogy to how this winning culture is being built.
"So, I'm home today, right? So my wife is putting something up in the backyard and I don't know what it is. We have this beautiful grass and so they ripped the grass up and now there's mud everywhere and they're putting brick around the outside. It's going to be absolutely gorgeous, but it looks like it's a mess right now. And to me, that's how building a football program looks like. They usually don't give you the job because you're winning a ton. So you come in, you take over, but just because you don't see what you want to see doesn't mean it's not being built. If you can't see the fight and the resiliency of our guys, you know, I just look forward to when close losses become close wins. I understand some people can't see that but that's been my history. Close losses eventually become close wins. You have to get better and better and better and it just takes time. There's no shortcut to it, there's no easy fix to it, you just have to grind your way through it. It stinks when you go through it, but when you get to the other side, it's always been good to me and I'm hopeful that we can get through the other side as fast as possible."
The Panthers are certainly out of playoff contention and may not have a whole lot to play for in terms of this season, but this coaching staff and group of players want to finish the season on a high note and ride into 2021 with some momentum. The Panthers have played hard in every game this season, don't expect that to change in these final two games.
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