Could Panthers Firing Frank Reich Have Positive Impact On Patriots?

There tends to be a short-term resurgence when an NFL team fires its head coach.

The Raiders showed it to be the case immediately after Las Vegas fired head coach Josh McDaniels on Nov. 1. The vibes improved as the new regime represented a fresh start. Las Vegas turned it into consecutive wins under interim coach Antonio Pierce. The Raiders since have come back to reality, which feels like it tends to be the case as well.

The New England Patriots would benefit if the Carolina Panthers wrote a similar script.

Carolina on Monday fired head coach Frank Reich merely 11 games into his first season with the franchise. Panthers owner David Tepper was frustrated with the team’s lack of improvement and appointed special teams coach Chris Tabor as the interim coach. Tepper clearly is hoping a restart will benefit rookie quarterback Bryce Young and the Panthers before season’s end.

If so, the Panthers wouldn’t be the only team to benefit. So would the Patriots.

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The Panthers currently have the worst record in the league, and thus the top overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. One or two wins to close out the season could help Bill Belichick’s team jump up the draft board. And considering the Panthers’ pick will be sent to the Chicago Bears anyway, Carolina doesn’t have any reason to tank. The franchise doesn’t stand to benefit.

While the Panthers are arguably the worst team in the league, their remaining schedule is far from a gauntlet. That’s a benefit of playing in the NFC South. Carolina has five games against teams with records currently below .500: the 4-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers twice, the 5-6 New Orleans Saints, the 5-6 Atlanta Falcons and the 5-6 Green Bay Packers. The 8-3 Jacksonville Jaguars represent Carolina’s only remaining opponent with a winning record.

The Patriots have a 9.8% chance to land the top pick, per ESPN draft analytics. New England would hold the third pick if the NFL draft was held Monday. The Bears have a 67% chance to land the No. 1 overall pick while the Arizona Cardinals have a 19.7% chance to land it, per ESPN. Those are the only teams with better odds than the Patriots.