On Monday evening, we found out that the Carolina Panthers will be keeping at least two coaches from the 2022 staff—special teams coordinator Chris Tabor and offensive line coach James Campen. And now, courtesy of The Charlotte Observer‘s Mike Kaye, we found out at least one who won’t be back.
Kaye, not two hours after the news of Tabor and Campen dropped, reported that head coach Frank Reich and the Panthers will not be retaining last year’s interim defensive coordinator Al Holcomb.
#Panthers interim defensive coordinator Al Holcomb will not return to Carolina as part of Frank Reich's staff, according to a league source.
— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) January 31, 2023
Holcomb first served as the team’s linebackers coach from 2013 to 2017. He’d move on with Steve Wilks after that initial tenure, becoming the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for the Arizona Cardinals in 2018 and then the linebackers coach—again under Wilks—for the Cleveland Browns a year later.
2020 would mark Holcomb’s return to Carolina—this time, as a linebackers coach and run game coordinator under Matt Rhule. When Rhule was ousted through five weeks of the 2022 campaign, Holcomb was promoted to interim defensive coordinator duties in place of the departed Phil Snow.
Carolina’s defense saw a steady improvement with Holcomb, as they allowed 3.4 fewer points than they did for Snow. They also held opponents to under 16 points in five of Holcomb’s 12 games at the position.
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