Season of turmoil for the Carolina Panthers The firings of interim coach Steve Wilks and Evan Cooper, cornerbacks coach, and Paul Pasqualoni, defensive line coach, continued Monday
Matt Rhule fired Cooper after Rhule’s 1-4 season. Cooper was hired by Rhule in 2020. Pasqualoni, who is 73 years old, was a former Syracuse and UConn head coach and a long-time NFL and college assistant coach. He joined the team before this season.
Bobby Maffei, defensive assistant, and Al Holcomb, interim defensive coordinator will assist the Panthers’ defensive backs. Terrance Knighton and Don Johnson will coach the defensive linemen.
Wilks is now 1-3 interim coach after the Panthers’ 42-21 loss The Cincinnati Bengals The team suffered its biggest halftime deficit in franchise history (35-0).
Carolina lost 464 yards to 228. They gave up five rushing touchdowns in the loss after only seven in their first eight games. Seven penalties were also taken by the Panthers for 50 yards. Four of them were committed by defense officials for lining up onsides.