Mr. Scot

Ellis also confirmed this was official. So that's two new college scouts, two college scouts gone and two pro scouts gone (Luke being one of them). And of course, a new assistant GM I get the feeling they're not done yet though. Things could look a lot different when all is said and done.

"Coach centric" is probably a better description. Our front office is modeled after the Seahawks, where Pete Carroll has final say. Rhule has made it pretty clear that he's not a dictator though. Scott Fitterer runs the personnel processes and he ran the draft, though Rhule and the coaching staff helped set up the draft board. It's not like Belichick.

Discussion of Matt Rhule's interview with Rich Eisen wherein he gives the quote, "Dave leaves the football stuff to me and Scott" can be found here. Likewise, here's a quote from Darin Gantt's article about draft night in the Panthers war room. Tepper's an active participant in the process. Not in terms of this player or that guy, but making sure every one in the room is taking the right steps to every decision. Again, these are from people actually connected with the team, not internet guys who watch Showtime.

No matter what happens... ... I'm really not gonna give a sh-t. (this may indeed be some of the dumbest crap ever posted here)

Actually, per Rhule's own words, Fitterer ran the draft and free agency processes. Which makes sense because that's kind of, you know, his job. Also according to both Rhule and Gantt, David Tepper stays out of the football decisions and lets his coach and GM do what they were hired to do. And I happen to think that's great

You have no idea who Jeff King is, do you?

Honestly, regardless of what happens with Darnold, I'd say it's pretty well established that Gase is sh-t.

From the article, a little more confirmation of Tepper's role... Multiple Panthers staffers talked about the presence of Tepper in the room as one that focused them. Tepper's an active participant in the process. Not in terms of this player or that guy, but making sure every one in the room is taking the right steps to every decision. "He's very analytical," Burke said. "He definitely makes you think about every step. Trades, who you're picking, he wants you think through the whole process. "The different perspective is helpful because it's an outsider's perspective."

Hell, back in 95, the Panthers got a tip that the Oilers were gonna take Kerry Collins and everybody panicked. Luckily, that one was wrong. But this sort of thing has been going on forever. And remember, 95 was well before social media existed.

I can. I just don't want to

I don't know that any of those will be retired, or should be. You can't retire the number of every great player. There needs to be something higher than just that (like there was with Mills).

Point being that info gets out. There are stories like this every year.

Albert Breer and several other Twitter accounts regularly post who the picks are in advance.

I have seen someone else theorize that it was Simmons as well, but I don't remember who. Probably well before, from what I've read.

The last teams they were with aren't necessarily the only teams.

It wasn't someone from the Saints war room.. Scouts, reporters and insiders extensively discuss with each other what's going on behind the scenes during the draft. How do you think picks get tipped?

From the third post in this thread, regarding who the Panthers would have taken if they had been at number three... And from just a few posts later, specifically to you... Not sure what in your head is rearranging that to say that they were still interested in Fields when it's actually saying just the opposite. The talk that there were people in the building who liked Fields was certainly real. The judgment that Scott Fitterer and Matt Rhule were not among those people is also obviously true. When they went into the war room, their draft board was set, and they followed it. There was no "debate till the end".

Actually, in the last weeks before the draft, Verge repeatedly said we wouldn't take a quarterback. Likewise, Jeremy Fowler reported that despite the Panthers putting out their willingness to take a quarterback, most of the other teams in the league weren't buying it. It was a smokescreen, and one that apparently worked more effectively on fans and some analysts than it did on other teams.

It's not.

We actually know just the opposite from both Person and Gantt. Person was asked this in his Q&A: Do you think the Fields talk was to bait other teams to trade up? Same with holding off on Darnold's option until after the draft? His answer: Yes and yes. Though Tepper's affinity for Fields was real. if that's not enough, throw in this from Gantt's article detailing what took place in the war room... Then the Bengals took LSU wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase in the fifth spot, followed by the Dolphins taking Alabama wide receiver Jaylen Waddle with the sixth pick, and there was a chorus of "yes," from the draft room. With only one team between them and their turn, the Panthers were this close to having their choice of either Penei Sewell (the top left tackle on their board, at a position they could use) or Jaycee Horn (the top cornerback on their board, at a position they could use). Quarterback Justin Fields being available provided bait if someone wanted to make a move. So no, it wasn't "debated until the end". By the time the pick was up, that debate was long over.

Not at the time they were talking trade. The conviction that the Jets were absolutely going to take Wilson didn't really take hold until his pro day. That's why they weren't willing to move forward on trading Darnold until after that. The Gantt article about the Panthers war room pretty much confirms that their top two choices were Sewell and Horn.

I pointed out earlier that at the time they were looking at that trade, they didn't have Darnold. So yes it's possible they could have been looking at trading up for a shot at someone else (likely Wilson, based on what we've learned since) but it's not guaranteed. Again though, once Darnold was on board, there was pretty much no shot of a QB being taken at #8. We just had to make it look like there was.

I don't know if Morgan is no longer the top choice or if they're just covering their bases / doing due diligence, etc. Morgan and Fitterer are close friends who have worked together before, but of course Matt Rhule does have to sign on as well.

I saw an interview where he referred to himself as being "young and stupid" his first couple of years in college, apparently did some things he regretted. Being willing to admit that could be a good sign.

There's a difference between pre-draft sources and post-draft sources. Once there's no more need to bullsh-t anybody, you can generally get a pretty honest answer. There were indeed people within the building who liked Fields, David Tepper being one of them. Matt Rhule and Scott Fitterer? Not so much. And since they were the ones making the decision, here we are.