Staff report

CHARLOTTE — Sunday’s home Carolina Panthers game featured a lot of red San Francisco 49ers jerseys, some black “Fire Matt Rhule” jerseys and the usual long list of Carolina calamities.

Those calamities included a devastating pick-six shortly before halftime in what eventually became a 37-15 setback. The Panthers’ defense, down several of its top players due to injuries, had battled hard and had kept the Panthers in the game until that deflating pick-six  made it 17-3

The heat has been on Rhule for weeks and the “Fire Matt Rhule” folks got their fondest wish on Monday morning.

The announcement of Rhule’s firing came at about 11 a.m.

The Panthers (1-4), who managed to beat the New Orleans Saints, only have one way to go — and that’s up. Even with a healthy Christian McCaffrey, they’ve been the NFL’s worst offensive team. New quarterback Baker Mayfield had decent yardage numbers on Sunday but also suffered an injury and is in a walking boot.

Rhule exits with an 11-27 record and no postseason appearances. That’s a .289 winning percentage,

Rhule still has four years left on the seven-year, $62 million contract that he signed in 2020.

Rhule, 47, was credited with turning around college programs at Temple and Baylor, but the Panthers appeared to be getting worse in Ruhle’s third season at the helm.

Replacing Rhule as interim head coach is Steve Wilks, 53, who held the titles of defensive pass game coordinator and secondary coach.

Wilks was head coach of the Arizona Cardinals for a year and has been a long-time assistant in the NFL.

The Panthers take on the Los Angeles Rams, the reigning Super Bowl champs, on Sunday.