Even though they just got themselves a new head coach in Frank Reich, the Carolina Panthers still can’t seem to completely rid themselves of the last guy.
As reported by CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones, former head coach Matt Rhule filed an arbitration suit against the Panthers last week—claiming his previous employer is refusing to pay his severance compensation. The 48-year-old is seeking approximately $5 million in offset money he alleges is owed to him following his firing this past season.
Rhule was hired by Carolina in January of 2020, to the tune of a pricey seven-year, $62 million contract. The deal, at the time, made him the sixth-highest paid head coach in the NFL—a league in which he had just a year’s worth of prior experience in.
He’d go on to lead the Panthers to an 11-37 mark—which, in turn, led to his dismissal back on Oct. 10. Defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach Steve Wilks would take over in the interim role for the final 12 games and recorded six wins—more than Rhule had amassed in either of his two full seasons in Carolina.
Rhule has since been hired as the head coach at the University of Nebraska.
Per Jones, Rhule’s employment attorney, the Panthers and the NFL declined comment on the filing.
