NFL Coaching Matters: 2022 Carolina Panthers Offense and Coaching Staff Preview

July 21, 2022

Eli Grabanski breaks down the 2022 Carolina Panthers' coaching staff in search of buy-lows, fantasy football sleepers, and risers based on play-calling and historical data.

After every NFL season, NFL teams take the time to evaluate not only the players but also the coaching staff and front office as well. While many teams choose to retain the same head coach, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator, a few other teams opt to go in a new direction with their coaching staff.

The Carolina Panthers will largely be keeping the same coaching staff as they had in 2021, with the only major change coming at offensive coordinator as the team moves on from Joe Brady and hires Ben McAdoo to serve as the new offensive coordinator. Head coach Matt Rhule and defensive coordinator Phil Snow will both return for the 2022-23 season.

This article will look at the potential impact this coaching staff will have on the players and try to pinpoint the Panthers players' fantasy values in it.

The Baseline

To get a better understanding of the value the Panthers coaches help bring to this team, we can look at the NFL league averages in each of the past two years in a variety of statistical categories and then compare them to the averages achieved by the Panthers' coaches. Here are 'The Baseline' NFL league averages over the past couple of years:

QB Impact

RB Impact

WR Impact

TE Impact

Defense Impact

Previous Coaching Staff

In order to get an understanding of how the Carolina Panthers' fantasy players may be impacted this year, we also need to look at what kind of production former offensive coordinator Joe Brady got out of the Panthers' offense during his time as the offensive coordinator. By doing this, we will have a better understanding of where the new offensive coordinator is starting from and where the primary changes will occur.

Former Offensive Coordinator: Joe Brady

Going into the 2021 NFL season, Joe Brady was considered one of the brightest young minds in the NFL and likely a future head coach. He had a meteoric rise through the coaching ranks, starting his coaching career as a linebackers coach at William & Mary college in 2013 (2013-2014) before joining Penn State's staff as a graduate assistant (2015-2016). The New Orleans Saints were impressed enough with his work at these two destinations that they hired him to be an offensive assistant for the team for 2017 and 2018. After this stretch with the Saints, LSU came calling and offered Brady a job as the passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach for the team. LSU then had an incredibly successful season in 2019, and afterward, Brady was offered a spot on the Carolina Panthers coaching staff as the team's offensive coordinator (2020). The future was still looking bright for Brady early in the 2021 NFL season as the Panthers started 3-0...but then the season fell apart for the team and Brady was fired 12 games in. Below are some statistics from Joe Brady's career as an offensive coordinator.

QB Impact

RB Impact

WR Impact

TE Impact

2022 Offense

2022 Head Coach: Matt Rhule 

Matt Rhule has been the Carolina Panthers' head coach since 2020. Before joining the Panthers, Rhule spent most of his coaching career working at the college level – most notably as a head coach for the Temple Owls (2013-2016) and Baylor Bears (2017-2019).

QB Impact

RB Impact

WR Impact

TE Impact

Matt Rhule's Takeaways & Expectations

While offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo is expected to be the Carolina Panthers' primary offensive play-caller during the 2022 season, we will also take a look at head coach Matt Rhule's coaching profile since he also comes from an offensive background and could potentially take on offensive play-calling duties at any point during the 2022 season. Under Rhule, the Carolina Panthers averaged 34.82 passing attempts per game – which is average relative to the NFL league averages the last couple of seasons.

It's also important to pay attention to the amount of rushing work a quarterback receives since it can give your quarterback a higher ceiling in fantasy leagues. Throughout Rhule's 33 games as the Carolina Panthers' head coach, his quarterback room has averaged 4.97 carries per game.

This rushing usage is a little above the NFL league averages we've seen the last few years. While he won't have Cam Newton this year to help boost these rushing totals, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, and Matt Corral should still see a decent amount of carries during the 2022 season. Overall, Matt Rhule will provide an average amount of volume both through the air and on the ground. Based on this information, view Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold as streaming options this year.

Jumping to the running back room, the way that Matt Rhule has utilized the group has been a bit of a mixed bag. Throughout Rhule's 33-game regular-season career, the Panthers' running back room has averaged 18.91 carries, 72.61 rushing yards, and 0.55 rushing touchdowns per game on the ground.

These numbers are all below average relative to the NFL league averages. Christian McCaffrey being out for a large chunk of the last two seasons may explain part of this decision to not feed the team's running backs on the ground, but it will be a trend to watch for going forward with Matt Rhule's offense.

If old trends hold true then the Panthers' running back room will get a below-average number of carries, but in terms of the distribution of carries, is Rhule feeding one back on the ground or rolling with a running back by committee approach?

While Matt Rhule generally trended towards a running back by committee approach in his career as a college football head coach, he has shown that he will feed his main back (Christian McCaffrey) – when healthy. The problem is that McCaffrey hasn't been healthy for much of the last two years which is really skewing the 2020 and 2021 season carries numbers. It's likely that they go with a bell-cow approach with McCaffrey in 2022, just maybe not to the levels we've come accustomed to with McCaffrey in an effort to keep him healthy and on the field all year.

The final aspect we should look at concerning Matt Rhule's running backs is how much they utilized them as pass-catchers. Matt Rhule's running back room averaged 5.97 receptions on 7.42 targets for 44.82 receiving yards and 0.21 receiving touchdowns per game throughout his career – which is a little above the league averages the last couple of years.

Overall, Christian McCaffrey may not hit the highs he did in 2018 and 2019 from Norv & Scott Turner's system, but from a fantasy perspective, he should still be an RB1 – even if Matt Rhule takes on play-calling duties.

Jumping to the wide receiver position, Matt Rhule's wide receiver room has averaged 13.55 receptions on 22 targets for 168.15 receiving yards and 0.61 receiving touchdowns per game throughout his career.

The 22 wide receiver targets per game are slightly better than the NFL league averages the last couple of seasons and suggest that the Panthers' wide receivers have a good amount of potential if they can get a competent quarterback to capitalize on these opportunities. The acquisition of Baker Mayfield should help out.

Finally, Matt Rhule's usage of tight ends has been virtually non-existent throughout his career. Throughout 33 games where Matt Rhule has been the Carolina Panthers' head coach, his tight end room has averaged just 2.18 receptions on 3.61 targets for 19.88 receiving yards and 0.09 receiving touchdowns.

This usage is incredibly disappointing, and if you plan on rostering one of the Carolina Panthers tight ends in your fantasy league(s) for whatever reason, you are hoping that Matt Rhule doesn't take on play-calling duties at any point during the 2022 season.

2022 Offensive Coordinator: Ben McAdoo

Ben McAdoo hasn't served as an offensive coordinator or head coaching role since his time with the New York Giants (2014-2017). He served as the Giants' offensive coordinator from 2014 to 2015 and was later promoted to the team's head coaching position in 2016 where he spent 28 games before getting fired. Below are some of his team's offensive statistics from his time as an offensive play-caller.

QB Impact

RB Impact

WR Impact

TE Impact

Ben McAdoo's Takeaways & Expectations

While head coach Matt Rhule has an offensive background, offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo is expected to be the Panthers' primary play-caller during the 2022 NFL season.

Throughout his 60-game career in an offensive coordinator or head coaching role, Ben McAdoo's teams have averaged 37.67 passing attempts, 260.33 passing yards, and 1.78 passing touchdowns per game. These numbers are all slightly above the NFL league averages we've seen in the last couple of years and suggest that McAdoo could actually be a positive asset to Baker Mayfield's passing numbers in 2022.

Besides passing, we also need to consider the rushing production we should expect from Ben McAdoo's quarterback room. Throughout his career, Ben McAdoo's quarterback room has averaged 1.12 carries, 1.95 rushing yards, and 0.03 rushing touchdowns per game.

These numbers are all below-average, but it's important to remember that his primary quarterback during this time was an aging Eli Manning. Overall, Ben McAdoo will likely be a positive influence on his quarterbacks in the passing game and a below-average influence on his quarterback room in the running game in 2022.

Moving onto the running back position, Ben McAdoo's running backs have averaged 23.4 carries, 88.92 rushing yards, and 0.43 rushing touchdowns per game throughout his career on the ground.

These carries numbers are actually a little above-average relative to other NFL play-callers, but the rushing yards and rushing touchdowns are a little below average. Besides the volume (the number of carries), we also need to consider how those carries are distributed – how often was Ben McAdoo rolling with a bell-cow approach versus utilizing a running back by committee approach?

Clearly, throughout his career, Ben McAdoo has preferred to utilize a running back by committee approach on the ground. Christian McCaffrey will be by far the best running back that McAdoo has ever worked with, so we shouldn't necessarily expect a full-blown running back by committee approach or anything. This will be something to keep an eye on this season with McCaffrey since there's a decent chance he doesn't see the 80%+ carry workload that he's seen in the past in McAdoo's offense.

The last thing we need to consider with Ben McAdoo's running back room is the receiving workload. Throughout Ben McAdoo's career, his running back room has averaged 5.02 receptions on 7.02 targets for 37.38 receiving yards and 0.12 receiving touchdowns per game.

These numbers are right around the league averages we've seen the last couple of years. Overall Ben McAdoo's running back room history is a bit of a mixed bag. With McAdoo calling the plays, Christian McCaffrey probably won't have quite the fantasy upside he once had playing in Norv/Scott Turner's offense, but he should still be an RB1 as long as he stays healthy.

Jumping to the wide receiver position, Ben McAdoo's wide receivers have averaged 13.18 receptions on 22.12 targets for 171.42 receiving yards and 1.23 receiving touchdowns per game.

These numbers are all either average or above-average relative to the NFL league averages over the last couple of years. Overall, Ben McAdoo should have a positive influence on D.J. Moore, Robbie Anderson, and Terrace Marshall's fantasy value for the 2022 season.

Finally, we get to the tight end position. Throughout his 60-game career, Ben McAdoo's tight end room has averaged 5.28 receptions on 7.87 targets for 50.33 receiving yards and 0.43 receiving touchdowns per game.

These career averages are all significantly better than the averages we've seen from the Carolina Panthers tight end room the last couple of seasons under Matt Rhule & Joe Brady. Overall, with Ben McAdoo as the team's offensive coordinator, there might actually be a chance that a Carolina Panthers tight end ends up being fantasy relevant during the 2022 season in the form of a TE2 or streamer.

Fantasy Relevant Players: Sam Darnold, Matt Corral, P.J. Walker, Christian McCaffrey, Chuba Hubbard, D'Onta Foreman, D.J. Moore, Robbie Anderson, Terrace Marshall Jr., Rashard Higgins, Tommy Tremble, and Ian Thomas

2022 Defense

2022 Defensive Coordinator: Phil Snow

Phil Snow may have never been a defensive coordinator at the NFL level before the Carolina Panthers in 2020, but he does have an abundance of experience at the position at the college level. At the college level, Phil Snow had been a defensive coordinator for Laney (CA) college (1980-1981), Boise State (1983-1986), Arizona State (1995-2000), UCLA (2001-2002), Washington (2003-2004), Eastern Michigan (2010-2012), Temple (2013-2016), and Baylor (2017-2019). Let's take a look at how the Panthers' defense has performed under Snow in his two years as the team's defensive coordinator.

Other Notable Assistants

Special Teams Coordinator: Chris Tabor - The Carolina Panthers will have a new special teams coordinator in 2021, going from Chase Blackburn to Chris Tabor. Tabor has been coaching football at a variety of levels since 1993 and has previously served as a special teams coordinator for the Cleveland Browns (2011-2017) and Chicago Bears (2018-2021).

QB Coach: Sean Ryan - Sean Ryan joined the Carolina Panthers coaching staff in 2021. He has been coaching since 1998 and has previously been a quarterback coach for the New York Giants (2012-2013), Houston Texans (2017-2018), and Detroit Lions (2019-2020).

RB Coach: The Carolina Panthers don't have a listed running backs coach on the roster after Jeff Nixon served in the role last year. This year Nixon will technically serve as 'Assistant Head Coach, Offense' during the 2022 season.

WR Coach: Joe Dailey - The Carolina Panthers will have a new wide receivers coach in 2022, as the team goes from Frisman Jackson to Joe Dailey. Dailey spent the previous 14 years coaching as an assistant at the college level.

TE Coach: Kevin M. Gilbride - The Carolina Panthers will have a new tight ends coach for the 2022 NFL season, as the team moves on from Brian Angelichio to bring in Kevin M. Gilbride. Gilbride has been coaching in a variety of roles at the NFL level since 2010 and has previously worked as a tight ends coach for the New York Giants (2014-2017) and the Chicago Bears (2018-2019).

OL Coach: James Campen - Another coaching staff position that will change for the Carolina Panthers in 2022 is their offensive line coach, as the time goes from Pat Meyer to James Campen. James Campen has been coaching at the NFL level since 2004, serving as an offensive line coach for the Green Bay Packers (2007-2018), Cleveland Browns (2019), Los Angeles Chargers (2020), and Houston Texans (2021) before joining the Carolina Panthers.

DL Coach: Paul Pasqualoni - The defensive line coach will be different for the Carolina Panthers in 2022 as the team goes from Frank Okam to Paul Pasqualoni. Pasqualoni has been coaching football since 1972 at a variety of levels and roles. He has previously served as a defensive line coach at the NFL level for the Dallas Cowboys (2010), Chicago Bears (2014), and Houston Texans (2015). He's also served as an NFL defensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins (2008-2009) and the Detroit Lions (2018-2019).

LB Coach: The Carolina Panthers don't have a listed linebackers coach on their coaching roster for the 2022 NFL season after Mike Siravo served in the role last year. This year he will serve as the defensive run game coordinator.

Cornerbacks Coach: Evan Cooper has been the Carolina Panthers' cornerbacks coach since 2020. Before being hired by the Panthers, he worked under Matt Rhule at Temple and Baylor.

Secondary Coach: Steve Wilks - The Carolina Panthers will have a new secondary coach in 2022 as the team goes from Jason Simmons to Steve Wilks. Wilks has previously served as a defensive backs coach at the NFL level for the Chicago Bears (2006-2008), San Diego Chargers (2009-2011), and Carolina Panthers (2012-2016). Wilks has also served as a defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers (2017) and Cleveland Browns (2019), as well as the head coach for the Arizona Cardinals (2018).

Enjoy this series? Be sure to check out all of the other 'Coaching Matters' team previews!

AFC North: Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals

AFC South: Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts

AFC West: Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders

AFC East: Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, New England Patriots, New York Jets

NFC North: Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings

Follow Eli Grabanski on Twitter: @3li_handles

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