Frank Reich was fired in the middle of last season and has yet to coach a game for the Carolina Panthers. But that didn’t stop one NFL writer from placing him in the top half of his recent rankings.
Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports just ran down each of the league’s head coaches, from No. 32 to No. 1. In at No. 16 is Reich, who is entering his first season with the franchise he once quarterbacked.
Unceremoniously exiled by the Colts in 2022, it’s a small marvel Reich kept Indy above water with such annual QB turnover. Though he’s yet to run a true contender, managing one playoff win in just over four years as a HC, he’s a widely respected leader with a championship offensive pedigree, making him an ideal mentor for No. 1 pick Bryce Young and the upstart Panthers.
Before that exile, Reich went 40-33-1 in Indianapolis between 2018 and 2022. His run resulted in a pair of playoff appearances for the Colts, one of which yielded a Wild Card Round win over the AFC South Houston Texans.
But now, he’s in the NFC South—which feels to be up for the taking in 2023. And if he does take it, Reich will most certainly shoot up these rankings this time next year.
