Frank Reich’s background and contacts will be key to developing offense

The Panthers have never had a head coach with an offensive background in franchise history, and perhaps not coincidentally, they’ve only had three top-10 offenses during those first 28 years.

Reich walks in the door with a background with quarterbacks, from being a backup (on the Bills teams that went to four straight Super Bowls) and a starter (the expansion Panthers in 1995). He was also Peyton Manning’s quarterbacks coach in Indianapolis and led three top-10 offenses there with three different quarterbacks.

That background will be helpful in Charlotte since he walks in the door with some significant challenges.

The Panthers have exactly two quarterbacks under contract at the moment, and they’re Matt Corral, who didn’t play a snap his rookie year because of a preseason foot injury, and Jacob Eason, who played five snaps at the end of a Week 6 loss to the Rams. The rest of the 2022 depth chart at the most important position is either gone already (Baker Mayfield) or headed to free agency (Sam Darnold, PJ Walker, another former Colt). And while the ninth pick in the 2023 NFL Draft gives them some options, it’s not as if there’s a surefire, turn-key starter waiting to be picked in April.

The Panthers are thin at running back, having traded Christian McCaffrey at midseason. Fill-in D’Onta Foreman ran well, but he’s a free agent, so he has choices to make.