Matt Rhule said the decision to fire Joe Brady as offensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers on Sunday was "purely football."

Rhule also made it clear there were no regrets in his 2020 decision to hire Brady, who at the time was a 30-year-old passing game coordinator for LSU with no experience calling plays in the NFL or at any other level.

"When I took the job, I decided to be bold and step outside my comfort zone," Rhule said. "I certainly don't look at that as a mistake."

The Panthers (5-7) had only a combined 39 rushes the past two games combined, including 18 in a loss to the Miami Dolphins before the bye week. Rhule said after an Oct. 17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings he wanted 30 to 33 rushes per game.

The Carolina Panthers have fired Joe Brady as offensive coordinator with five games left in the season. The Panthers are on their bye week.

Matt Rhule said in a statement that he met with Brady on Sunday morning and "informed him that I have decided to make a change."

"I'm very grateful to him for his time and effort in helping us get established over this past year and a half," Rhule said.

Brady joined the Panthers in January 2020 after helping LSU win a national championship as the Tigers' passing game coordinator.