Frank Reich to Panthers: Keep fighting, it's going to make an impact
Frank Reich is a believer in sudden turnarounds.
He authored the biggest playoff comeback in NFL history as a quarterback for the Bills and oversaw another major shift in his first year as the Colts' head coach. The team started the 2018 season with a 1-5 record before finding their stride. They'd win 10 of their next 11 games, including a playoff victory over the Texans, before bowing out against the Chiefs in the divisional round.
Reich is now in his first year with the Panthers and a hat trick would suit him just fine. The Panthers are 0-5 after Sunday's 42-24 loss to the Lions and Reich said that his message to the team is to continue to put in the work because he believes it will make a difference even if the results have not been what anyone wants so far this season.
"Keep fighting to get better and know that it's going to make an impact, it's going to make an impact this year, tomorrow, and future days," Reich said, via the team's website. "We have a great group of veteran leaders and listen, I don't feel sorry for any of us, right? But I feel bad that we're here. So these guys are working hard, making sacrifices, and you want to win for a lot of reasons, but you want to win for these guys, these leaders in the locker room. And I believe that will happen. I don't know when, but I believe that we will keep working towards that. I believe we have the players to do it. I believe we have the coaches to do it. And that's why you fight and scratch and claw every day because you believe that and, I will never waver in that."
The Bears won last Thursday, so the Panthers are now the only winless team left in the league and the longer that remains the case the harder it will be to keep selling the idea that there's growth going on despite the losing. With the Dolphins on deck in Week Six, finding a way to do that will likely be a vital part of Reich's job in the coming days.
