When Frank Reich was hired as the Colts head coach in 2018, he was the last head coach hired in that cycle and he had to do some catching up to teams that had already started putting their staffs together.
Reich was on the other end of the spectrum this time. The Panthers made Reich the first hire of this cycle and he has spent his time putting together a staff that’s long on experience. Senior assistants Jim Caldwell and Dom Capers are both two-time head coaches while offensive assistants Duce Staley, James Campen, and Shawn Jefferson have all be coaching for more than a decade.
The same is true of defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, defensive line coach Todd Wash and special teams coordinator Chris Tabor. Evero interviewed for several head coaching jobs and was sought after as a coordinator by several teams, so it’s not surprising that the Panthers’ staffing choices have gotten strong reviews around the league.
“You need to get a group together that the chemistry is going to be right. It’s really, really important,” Reich said, via Darin Gantt of the team’s website. “And there’s no magic. I’m encouraged to hear that people think that so far the staff has been good. But at the same time, I’m like, I don’t know. I mean, we’re just doing what we do.”
Reich said he has been striving for “diversity of thought” on his staff and that his Colts experience taught him “just to be patient” when it comes to finding the right coaches to make the team better. It looks like he’s done that in Carolina, but, as always, the proof will come on the field.
