In January 2020, Matt Rhule was a hot name on the NFL coaching carousel. The New York Giants reportedly wanted to lure him from Baylor, but the Carolina Panthers came in and grabbed him first with a shocking seven-year, $62 million deal.

The Giants got lucky.

Rhule ended up being an expensive mistake for Panthers owner David Tepper. Before the third season of that deal was done, Rhule was fired. The Panthers announced the move on Monday morning. Rhule was 11-27 as Panthers coach. A listless 37-15 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday dropped the Panthers to 1-4 this season and was Rhule's final game as the team's coach. Rhule is the first coach fired this NFL season.

Carolina also fired defensive coordinator Phil Snow and assistant special teams coach Ed Foley.

Defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach Steve Wilks, who coached the Arizona Cardinals for one season, will be the team's interim coach.