5 factors that place Carolina Panthers HC Frank Reich on the hot seat

What factors indicate Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich could be on the hot seat over the secone half of his first campaign at the helm?

The Carolina Panthers are 1-8 from the 2023 NFL season so far and truly look awful. How much of the blame should head coach Frank Reich take?

I will be the first to admit that I thought this team was going to be much better than they are. I thought this team was a dark horse candidate to win the NFC South this year.

I could not have been more wrong.

It's pretty clear this team is the worst in football. What does this team do well besides lose? And who takes most of the blame?

Should Reich shoulder the load? Should it be general manager Scott Fitterer? Or should owner David Tepper be seen as the most responsible?

Well, in the NFL, the first person that usually gets scapegoated - besides the quarterback - is the head coach. I don't think Reich is doing himself any favors with this team. Here are five factors that could indicate he's on the hot seat until further notice.

Carolina Panthers are undisciplined

There's a laundry list of issues for this team, but one that might be one of the most egregious is the penalties. According to footballdb.com, the Carolina Panthers have been called for the second-most penalties in the NFL with 62 infractions. That ranks as the second-most in the NFC, with only the Chicago Bears accumulating more.

One could argue that the penalties should be the fault of the position coaches, but who put those position coaches in place? Furthermore, the Panthers have been called for 18 false start penalties, which ranks as the most in the NFL.

This isn't some random stranger breaking into the facility and corrupting the minds of the players. It's Frank Reich. He's also coached teams that rank high in the NFL in terms of penalties before, so this is not new for him.