After a terrible 1-4 start to the season, the Carolina Panthers fired head coach Matt Rhule.
Rhule never made a large impact on the Panthers, only winning 11 games, with the Panthers missing the playoffs in all of his seasons at the helm.
He is now the head coach of Nebraska.
As we have seen this year with the revival of the New York Giants under new head coach Brian Daboll, a change in coaching can lead to an improvement in performance.
We have also seen this with the Panthers under interim head coach Steve Wilks.
A peak inside the #panthers locker room after Sunday’s win over Seattle. Looks like a locker room that has come together under the leadership of interim HC Steve Wilks.
Carolina very much in play to win the NFC South with a month left. pic.twitter.com/1FV8P2QjUO
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 12, 2022
Wilks’ Impact
The Panthers are now 5-8 on the season.
During Wilks’ short time in charge of the Panthers, they have beaten two divisional rivals and lost to the third during overtime.
The majority of games that the Panthers now play are mostly competitive until the end.
The sudden improvement in form can also have a positive effect on the locker room.
We can see that this team is more united than it was under Rhule.
This togetherness shown by the team may be the reason why they are playing better.
Wilks appears to have control of the locker room, which is a great step toward having strong team chemistry.
The Panthers have gone from bottom-feeders of the NFC South to potential contenders.
The NFC South
Every team in the NFC South has a record of below. 500.
It’s like the reverse of the NFC East.
With the Panthers one game away from the division-leading Buccaneers, anything could happen.
Can Wilks transform the Panthers from 1-4 to a playoff team in half a season?
