CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – Former colts coach Frank Reich interviewed for the Panthers job Wednesday.

Upon retiring from the NFL in 1998, the man who took the first snaps at quarterback in Carolina Panthers history, Frank Reich, went from throwing Hail Marys to saying them.

“I wanted a couple of years to spend time with my family,” Reich recalled in 2018. “My wife Linda and I talked a lot about our next step.”

That next step took him back to Charlotte to the Reformed Theological Seminary, where he eventually served as president from 2003 to 2006. But being away from the game made him realize how much he loved it in the first place, and it reminded him of a goal he set for himself during his rookie season in Buffalo.

“I always believed (to be) and wanted to be an NFL coach. Why?’” he asked himself five years ago. “I love the comradery; I love the people, [and] I love the competition.”

Reich’s career in coaching started in Indianapolis as an intern for Tony Dungy in 2006. After working his way to wide receivers coach, he headed west, eventually becoming the offensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers.

Three years later, he served in the same position on a Philadelphia Eagles team that won the Super Bowl.

“Every person matters. Every detail matters in building a championship culture,” he said at a press conference in 2018.

Reich looked to bring that mindset when he returned to Indy to take over as head coach of the Colts the following season. After getting off to a rough start in his first year in 2018, Indianapolis recovered, becoming just the third team in league history to make the playoffs after a 1-5 start.

After falling short to the Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Round, the Colts missed the playoffs the following season. Though they returned in 2020, they would lose to Buffalo in the AFC Wildcard.

That would be the last time the Colts would make the postseason under Reich. Nine games into this past season, he was sent packing after a 3-8-1 start.