Frank Reich will return to the sidelines in 2023 as he was named the new head coach of the Carolina Panthers earlier this week.

The 61-year-old was fired by the Indianapolis Colts midway through the 2022 campaign after four seasons with the team, where he led them to a pair of playoff appearances.

Reich has a prior history in North Carolina as he was the first quarterback for the Panthers when they entered the league in the mid-90s, throwing their first-ever touchdown pass (to Pete Metzelaars).

Nearly 28 years later, Reich becomes the sixth head coach in Panthers history, replacing Matt Rhule, who was fired early into the 2022 season, with Steve Wilks taking over on an interim basis.

The man who led the Bills to the greatest comeback in NFL playoff history won a Super Bowl as offensive coordinator with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017 and compiled a record 40-33-1 as head coach in Indy.

He takes over a team that has not made the playoffs since 2017, the last time they had a winning record.

Wilks, who put the Panthers in playoff contention near the end of the season, released a statement about the hire on Twitter, expressing his disappointment, 

His attorney Douglas Wigdor, who also represents Brian Flores’ pending racial discrimination case against the NFL, was not quite as graceful as Wilks, calling out the league and Panthers owner David Tepper among others.

He said, “We are shocked and disturbed that after the incredible job, Coach Wilks did as the interim coach, including bringing the team back into Playoff contention and garnering the support of the players and fans, that he was passed over for the Head Coach position by David Tepper.

“There is a legitimate race problem in the NFL, and we can assure you that we will have more to say in the coming days.”

Carolina went 6-6 with Wilks at the controls and a win away from capturing the NFC South.

Reich has a lot of work to do when it comes to fixing an inconsistent offense, and it starts with finding some stability behind centre, as the Panthers have had eight different quarterbacks start at least one game since 2018, finishing no better than 19th in the NFL in scoring.

He has worked with some pretty elite quarterbacks as a coach, including Philip Rivers and Carson Wentz, who was 11-2 and an MVP candidate before being injured in 2017.